ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — A major storm wreaked havoc throughout the Rockford area late Friday night.

The City of Rockford saw high winds and rain that left many trees down and damaged powerlines. Residents are still trying to assess damages to their property.

ComEd trucks and crews were still working on powerlines and downed trees on Monday. There was a lot of damage to houses and yards near Eisenhower Middle School, including streetlights that fell and shattered everywhere.

“The tree that fell ripped the power lines off my house,” said Rockford resident Dani Sapsford.

A tree uprooted just feet from Sapsford’s house on Friday night, and she is not alone. There was a line of damage from near the Sinnissippi Golf Course up to Spring Creek, as well as over by Mulford.

“My mom was like, ‘your pillars are fallen,’ and I’m like, ‘what, the pillars are falling,’ and she was like, ‘you only have one pillar that’s standing,’ she said, ‘your pillars are gone,'” said Rockford resident Tara Dickson. “And, like I said, the pillars are the structure of the home.”

Dickson has lived in Rockford her whole life. She moved into her house back in 2019, where she sheltered from the storm with her mom and son.

“Never experienced anything like this before, especially the magnitude of what it was. So, this is the first for me, so a little bit overwhelming for sure, just trying to wrap your head around it and just gather everything you need for insurance companies,” Dickson said. “So, yeah, pretty much overwhelming.”

Sapsford had her dog, Rocco, to keep her company.

“Normally when I hear the siren, like any Midwesterner, we are usually outside wanting to look, but this time I did not,” Sapsford said. “I went straight to my closet, I don’t have a basement, and we both kind of hunkered down in there until it was safe to get out.”

They are now picking up the pieces in their yards and are trying to find the positives.

“Came out here to look and it was completely dark, we had loss power in the whole neighborhood, and I could see a tree was missing, but I couldn’t tell where it was,” Sapsford said. “So, I was worried it was on my neighbor’s house or something, and then came out here with a flashlight and noticed, what I saw, it missed both of our houses. We were lucky.”

“Thank God we were able to go to my mom’s, who lives in Loves Park, for the mean time, cause we didn’t have any power,” Dickson added. “So, yesterday we got back home and we had power that was restored.”

The National Weather Service has been out surveying the damage in the area. It could be a few days before they determine if a tornado did in fact come through.