Root of old tree that went over in the Tuesday morning storm in Syracuse. A shed and part of the garage were destroyed but the tree missed the home owned by Phil Mock and his sister LuAnn Mock at the corner of Front and John Streets.

The early storm this morning, Tuesday July 1, caused quite a bit of damage throughout the Syracuse area. Trees fell on several cars and limbs were everywhere throughout the area.

Power lines were down with the the area north of Chicago Street and Oakwood Park having no power. Syracuse Police Chief Tony Cirello has been on duty since 1:30 a.m. because of an accident caused by a falling tree and storm damage. Town workers, NIPSCO and area residents were hard at work cleaning up and repairing the destruction first thing this morning.

The hardest hit area appeared to be Front Street, Lake Street and Harrison Streets in the vicinity of Henry and John Streets. Power lines were brought down by crashing trees and limbs.

The wind blew the roof off of one of the baseball field dugouts at Wawasee High School. It landed about 100 feet away at the base of the town of Syracuse’s water tower

A huge, old tree was uprooted and smashed into a shed on the property of Phil Mock and his sister LuAnn Mock at the corner of Front and John streets. Two vehicles belonging to Paige Keim and Pat Price were damaged on Front Street. A tree fell on a Prickett Property truck parked in the 400 block of Lake Street.

Wawasee High School suffered damage to the tennis courts and baseball dugouts. A dugout roof blew off and was found below the town’s water tower.

Oakwood Resort had a tree uprooted and two guests had limbs fall on their cars. Maxwelton Golf Club had lots of limbs obstructing the golf course but it wasn’t stopping golfers from playing. Long lines formerd inside and outside McDonald’s and Burger King as well as convenience stores in Wawasee Village. People without power came from as far away as Milford for a cup of coffee.

A home on Boston Street near Syracuse Elementary was hit by a large falling limb.

Chad Jonsson, Syracuse park superintendent, was out assessing what would have to be repaired before the big 4th of July events in town parks. The hardest hit was Henry Ward Park where a major tree went down and Veterans Memorial at Crosson Mill Park. A tree limb damaged the fence and fell onto some playground equipment. The least damaged was Lakeside Park and Beach where most of the holiday happenings will occur.

There is no estimate yet on the dollar amount of the damage from the storm or on when electricity will be restored.