[Note: Updated information about restoration efforts can be found here.]
The morning after a tropical storm brought high winds to the area, 83.1% of New Canaan households remained without power, according to Eversource. The figure represents 7,057 homes, according to data as of 7:45 a.m. Wednesday.
Most residents appeared to lose power around 3 p.m. Tuesday, following a tornado watch in New Canaan and the county from the National Weather Service.
Gerrish Lane in New Canaan on Aug. 4, 2020. Credit: Barbara Wilson
As businesses shut down for the afternoon, fallen trees and limbs knocked out power. Emergency responders received reports of downed wires on Weed Street, Jelliff Mill Road, West Road, Ponus Ridge, Old Stamford Road, Birchwood Avenue, Danforth Drive and Valley Road, among others, according bulletins from fire dispatch.
“Now is the time to shelter from dangerous wind,” the NWS said in its storm warning.
Winds were expected to reach 73 mph, the organization said.
First Selectman Kevin Moynihan said in a town-wide call Tuesday night that “the strong winds downed many trees and power lines and affected about 160 of our roads, some 100 of which remain partially or fully closed.”
The storm is the first major weather event in New Canaan since the June 3 ouster of former Emergency Management Director Mike Handler.
Fairfield, Middlesex, New Haven and New London Counties had been under the tornado watch.
Eversource officials said on Twitter that the company is “experiencing issues with our automated outage reporting systems.”
“We’re aware of the significant number of outages across the state, and are actively working to assess the damage,” Eversource said. “All of our crews and additional resources are ready to begin restoration when it is safe.”
The utility company added: “We are proactively reaching out to customers via e-mail and phone to confirm outages. Thank you for your patience.”
Some of New Canaan’s neighbors appeared to be faring better with respect to restoration. Darien stood at 44.6% without power at 7:45 a.m. Wednesday, Wilton 71.4%, Stamford 15.2% and Norwalk 42.3%.
NewCanaanite.com will update this article with more information as it comes in.
Don’t bother with calling Eversource, been trying for 2 hours and they continually hang up. Tried online and also no help.
Nothing like higher rates and no customer service!
Wouldn’t it be great to have a dedicated director of emergency management in a time like this?
john clark.,yes it certainly would.
I know that there are many branches and wires to remove. But, the sooner Eversource restores our power the better. It is my sincere hope that they will get to work on this ASAP so that we can all go back to normal.
I was laying in bed last night and around midnight the entire sky turned blue, saw a similar scene when the transformer blew in NYC a year or two ago.
The residents of New Canaan are once again at the mercy of Eversource. We are always subject to false claims that the company is prepared, which they never are. Our local elected administration seems to be willing to accept this lack of service. In fact, not only is it accepted, we reward this company by having them ruin our roads and bring in natural gas. It would appear that this acceptance is why our town is one of the last to be restored.