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<br /> <br />. <br />. <br />. <br />. <br />. <br />. <br />. <br />. <br />. <br />. <br />. <br />. <br />. <br />. <br />. <br />. <br />. <br />. <br />. <br />. <br />. <br /> <br />Preface <br /> <br />On November 8, 1990, a group of concerned citizens, local civic leaders, and representatives of state and <br />federal agencies met at Indian Trail Junior High School in Plainfield, Illinois to determine the best course <br />of action to help area communities recover from the devastating tornado of August 28, 1990. This violent <br />windstorm and tornado raged along a 16.4 mile path through Kane, Kendall, and Will Counties, causing <br />over $200 million in damage. Twenty-nine people lost their lives and four thousand trees were destroyed. <br />Seven communities and surrounding areas were impacted, with Plainfield bearing the brunt of the <br />tornado. <br /> <br />As a result of the public meeting at Indian Trail School, Operation Tornado ReLeaf was conceived. Four <br />urban forestry oriented objectives were proposed: <br /> <br />1. Create a guide which can be used by municipalities to plan for woody vegetation recovery <br />resulting from wind, snow, ice and other damage. <br /> <br />2. Create immediate and long-term programs to replant trees lost as a result of the August 28th <br />tornado. <br /> <br />3. Assist elected officials and residents in forecasting the area devastated by the tornado. <br /> <br />4. Prepare individuals and municipalities affected and impacted by the tornado, for certification as <br />Tree City USA communities in 1992 and 1993. <br /> <br />By the end of 1993, all four objectives were realized. Objective 1 led to the composition of the Storms <br />Over the Urban Forest (SOTUF) natural disaster mitigation manual. Meg Bushnell, author of SOTUF's <br />Chapter 7, describes a case study of the area impacted by the August 28, 1990 tornado, and efforts to <br />releaf the area by the private sector. This Chapter also shows the response to Objective 2 and Objective <br />3. Illinois Division of Forest Resources District Forester, Tom Gargrave, accomplished Objective 4. Joliet, <br />Oswego, Plainfield and Plana, were certified as Tree City USA communities in 1992 and 1993. Joliet also <br />achieved a Tree City USA Growth Award in 1992. <br /> <br />As public official during the time, I need to acknowledge the enormous efforts of Meg Bushnell, Tom <br />Gargrave, John Andresen, and Lisa Burban for their help and encouragement. Without their sustained <br />support, the "releafing" of the communities would have taken much longer and would have been a more <br />painful process. <br /> <br />13 <br />