DECATUR - Storms packing torrential rain and lightning slammed into Central Illinois on Tuesday night, sparking an explosion and fire at crude oil storage tanks just north of Decatur.

The explosion happened about 5:30 p.m. and blew up one tank at the Podolsky Oil facility west of Greenswitch Road and north of Interstate 72. A second 3,000-gallon tank was set on fire and burned fiercely until fire crews, using a combination of water and foam, finally put it out at 8:25 p.m.

Dennis Downey, Hickory Point Fire ProtectionDistrict chief, said firefighters remained back when the first tank blew because of concerns over personal safety. He said once the second tank caught fire, firefighters moved in and eventually used 150 gallons of foam to suppress the burning tanks.

Firefighters fromWarrensburg, Maroa, Argenta, Harristown and Decatur also were on the scene, while those from South Wheatland and Clinton manned the firehouse in Forsyth handling other calls. Mount Zion firefighters assisted on scene with relief and support as did the Salvation Army.

The oil tank explosion and fire capped a tumultuous night of chaos as Central Illinois voters went to the polls and the weather went berserk. Streets and highways were flooded throughout the area, and Decatur firemen, police and emergency crews answered dozens of rescue calls. Drivers were plucked from vehicles with water up to the windows and even the roof. There was a report of a fire truck being washed off a road while answering the explosion call.

Rivers and streams throughout the area burst their banks as the National Weather Service issued flash flood warnings. At least several inches of rain were delivered by the Tuesday night storms, and the deluge surged across water-logged fields into water systems already choked with melt water from last week's snowstorm.

Forsyth Mayor Harold Gilbert, out touring the village Tuesday evening, said roads were awash, and he was aware of several homes that had been inundated. At one address, the pressure of the flood waters was so strong it had shattered a basement window.

"It's hard to tell out here in the dark how bad it is, but I'd say it's the second worst flood I've seen in 40 years," Gilbert said. "Several of our residents are going to have quite a bit of water damage to deal with."

Decatur firefighters, having committed three fire crews, a deputy chief and two battalion chiefs to assist Hickory Point firefighters with the oil tank fire, found themselves stretched thin as rescue calls from sinking cars flooded in and at least one house was hit by lightning. Decatur Fire Chief Matt Sekosky then ordered a "Condition Two" alert, which enabled the department to call in off-duty firefighters to man reserve equipment.

"We were really busy, and we had to do that to protect the city," Sekosky said. He planned to keep extra manpower around as another wave of storms moved in later Tuesday night and the crews continued to work the explosion site, now concentrating their efforts on preventing oil from leaking out and posing a pollution danger.

Elsewhere, hiking trails at Rock Springs Conservation Area were shut down because of flooding as the Sangamon River breached its banks. Earlier Tuesday before the heaviest rain arrived, flood waters were being drained out of Lake Decatur at a rate equivalent to 3 billion gallons a day.

Rob Shirley, water production manager for Decatur, said he has seen conditions switch rapidly from snow to thunderstorms in strange and dizzying weather patterns.

"I've been in Illinois for over 40 years, and I know I haven't seen anything like the climate changes I've seen here recently," he said.

Tuesday's forecast called for falling temperatures, which threatened to freeze the flood waters and produce snow after midnight, although any accumulation was expected to be less than half an inch.

Tony Reid can be reached at treid@herald-review.com or 421-7977.