By Kris Habermehl
On Thursday, April 9, 2015, at approximately 1915 hours local time, the tiny town of Fairdale, at the far northwestern edge of DeKalb County, Illinois, was struck by an EF-4 tornado. The tornado did massive damage to the town. It was one of seven twisters identified by the National Weather Service (NWS) as touching down in the area.
The incident was in the area of responsibility of the all-volunteer Kirkland (IL) Fire District, which covers 85 square miles of mainly open farmland. Three population centers lie within that district, the rural towns of Esmond and Fairdale and the larger town of Kirkland. Esmond, the smallest of these three towns, has a tiny cluster of homes and a grain elevator. Fairdale, all residential, has 500 residents and 70 structures. Kirkland is home to 1,800 residents and has a mix of small businesses and commercial occupancies.
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