Violent storm strikes area
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
As of this morning, police departments, township employees
and PSE&G were working to clean up and restore power to areas affected by
Tuesday night’s severe storms.
PSE&G announced [Wednesday] that they had restored power to nearly 80,000
customers in New Jersey, though 11,400 were still without power and in the most
heavily hit areas — namely Bloomfield, Montclair and Verona. Power in those
communities may not be restored up until 4 p.m. tomorrow, according to the
electric company.
Chief Douglas Huber of the Verona Police Department said today that power in
Verona was out in several hundred houses. “The main priority [today was] to make
the wires safe and clear any poles that may have fallen in the streets,” he
said. “But people are definitely going to be inconvenienced.”
“The problem isn’t the number of customers, it’s the extent of the damage,” Jenn
Connell, a representative for PSE&G, said today. “We’re having an access problem
because the roads are littered with trees, and it’s making it difficult to get
to the damaged locations. We’ve been working since the middle of [Tuesday] night
with county and local emergency officials to get the power back as soon as
possible.”
Connell said the company urges residents to be careful around the wires that
have fallen throughout the towns.
According to Joe Pollina, a meteorological intern at the National Weather
Service, places in Essex County reported winds of almost 65 miles per hour, and
several houses in the county, including Verona, were reportedly struck by
lightning.
Huber said areas east of Lakeside Avenue were most severely hit. Traffic lights
were out along Bloomfield and Pompton avenues this morning, with Mount Prospect
Avenue closed since Tuesday night.
Traffic was slowed through town due to a fallen power line at 201 Bloomfield
Ave., and cars were being led through the area one at a time.
Commuters were further inconvenienced when New Jersey Transit shut down the
Montclair-Boonton line train service for the morning peak period due to
storm-related power line damage.
“There [was] no electric service into New York City,” Ken Hitchner, a spokesman
for New Jersey Transit said today. “There’s limited diesel service going into
Hoboken, and we have our buses and Lakeland and DeCamp buses honoring the train
tickets.”
Huber said at least four trees had fallen into houses and a large tree had
fallen on Everett Field on Bloomfield Avenue.
He added that large trees and light poles had fallen at the Verona Civic Center
as well. Assistant Fire Chief Larry Burdett said that during the storm, falling
debris shattered the rear passenger window of his fire vehicle while he was
sitting in it.
Burdett talked about the violence of the storm, saying he saw a fallen tree that
had snapped across its 8-inch base.
The only injury reported in Verona was a man who fell during the storm, Huber
said.
Today, all children’s programs at the Verona Community Center and the schools
had been cancelled. Huber said the pool might also be closed because lack of
power prevented circulation and created a health hazard. This morning at Town
Hall, however, officials met and were trying to work out ways to keep the pool
open.
Capt. Richard Vanderstreet of the Cedar Grove Police Department said today that
no injuries had been reported because of the storm. As of this morning, Overlook
and Elmwood streets were closed.
“There was considerable storm damage, mostly in the south end of town due to the
heavy rain and winds,” he said.
He added that PSE&G was working today to restore power to affected areas, and
said to his knowledge, township programs and the pool were under normal
operation.
Cedar Grove resident Mary Freda said the township made a great effort to remove
fallen branches and debris from the area. Freda said her area on Lafayette Drive
was particularly affected, as a tree fell on two of her neighbors’ cars during
the storm, crushing one of them.
“The trees were going crazy,” she said. “It was like a mini tornado. The tree
came down around 10 p.m. last night.”
Pollina said the National Weather Service expects minor thunderstorms ahead for
the rest of the week, particularly Friday. “But definitely nothing as severe as
[Tuesday] night,” he said.
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