Lake Forest Repairs Beach Damage As Lake Bluff Seeks Donations

LAKE FOREST, IL — City staff completed repairs to Lake Forest's beach Thursday after high waves from from the previous weekend's storm caused widespread damage and dumped debris along the shoreline.

Multiple parts of the brick walkway were blown away from the heavy waves and had to be fixed. In a few areas, final repairs will take place when temperatures warm up, according to Communications Director Susan Banks.

"Guys in our Parks, Forestry, and Streets sections did an absolutely phenomenal job," Banks told Patch.

More than 36 cubic yards of wood and debris was collected and removed from the beach, she said. There was enough refuse to fill two roll-off containers, as well as over 15 tires that needed to be cleared away.

City public works and parks department staff handling the repairs. Other beaches on the Lake Michigan shoreline between Lake Forest and Evanston are managed by independent park districts, but both cities are responsible for their own beaches.

"We are very fortunate to have a wide array of equipment and maintenance guys in multiple operating sections that were able to get to the beach first thing Monday morning and start cleaning things up," Banks said.

A few new trees that were donated and planted over the past fall were lost, according to Banks, but city staff plan to place them in the spring before the beach opens for the season.

The next public beach north from Forest Park is managed by the Lake Bluff Park District. Its Sunrise Beach suffered severe damage in the Jan. 11 storm, according to the district. Staff hauled away three 1-ton trucks full of debris from the beach and got 100 sand bags from Lake County Emergency Management Agency to protect the bathroom and guard house ares in case of high waves in the future, the district announced. The North Shore Water Reclamation District also assisted with the cleanup, according to the park district.

In a social media post, district staff asked the public to donate to the nonprofit charitable foundation Friends of the LB Parks to help cover the cost of repairs. Staff said in an email the north beach will be re-opened Tuesday, although access to the parking lot and the south beach will remain limited for safety reasons.