While 835 Newtown Eversource customers were still without power as of Monday afternoon, February 17, thousands of the 12,158 Eversource customers in Newtown lost power during the span between Sunday afternoon, February 16, and now. A high wind advisory remains in effect through Tuesday.

For those still without power, Newtown Community Center is open until 9 pm for those who need a warm place, a spot to charge electronics, or bathroom facilities. Equally, the meeting/community room at Newtown Police Department is open 24/7 for those without power looking to warm up or recharge devices.

Health Department Director Donna Culbert said the storm combined snow, ice, rain, and high winds. First Selectman Jeff Capeci said the wind picking up Sunday overnight when the temperatures dropped made it dangerous for Eversource workers to go out and restore power. According to the first selectman, it is against OSHA safety regulations to work in those conditions. The storm arrived Saturday evening with snow, which turned to freezing rain and rain, meaning many woke up Sunday morning to a layer of snow and slush topped with a thick layer of ice. Rain continued on and off during the day, creating more slush and deep rain puddles, before temperatures plunged Sunday night and the winds hit.

Fortunately Newtown's Department of Public Works remained out ahead of things, laying down sand and salt to prevent all the rain and snow melt from freezing and complicating travel on Monday.

Falling branches from the winds caused a large amount of power outages and down lines, however. Police Chief David Kullgren encouraged residents to stay off the roads so that Public Works employees could continue to clear the roadways and utility workers could make needed repairs to the power structure.

Newtown Police Department encourages residents to stay off the roads so that Public Works employees can continue to clear the roadways and utility workers can make needed repairs to the power infrastructure. Newtown Emergency Communications Director Maureen Will warned that if residents see police yellow caution tape, to head it and not try to go through for their own safety because downed lines could be ahead.

"Leave them alone, go around," said Will. "Stay home if you can."

Capeci, who has spent much of Presidents Day day at the town's Emergency Operations Center, with Culbert and Will, who both stayed overnight, said there were many successes in restoring power, but some setbacks as occasionally neighborhoods needed to be temporarily taken down so that repairs to restore power elsewhere could be done safely.

Hundreds of Eversource line, tree and service crews are reportedly working to make repairs to the electric system and restore power to customers following this weekend’s snow and ice storm. Heavy, wet snow and thick coatings of ice brought down trees and branches onto power lines and electric equipment causing outages in communities around Connecticut. With strong winds expected to impact the state Monday, any weakened limbs will be more susceptible to falling and causing further damage. Since the storm began Saturday night, Eversource has restored power to approximately 85,000 customers, 76 critical facilities such as police and fire stations, hospitals, schools, sewage and water treatment facilities, and cleared 127 blocked roads. Approximately 14,000 customers remain without power as of 10 am Monday, many of which are single customer outages that will require time-intensive repairs. Additional crews from around the region have arrived and more will be arriving throughout the day to support the restoration effort, the utility announced via statement.

“Crews are making solid progress restoring power to customers as quickly and safely as possible, but the electric system continues to take on damage from the layers of ice that are weighing down trees, and those limbs and branches can come down much more easily with the strong winds we’re expecting today,” said Eversource President of Connecticut Electric Operations Steve Sullivan. “The icy road conditions, especially on the side streets, have also made travel difficult for our crews – impeding their efforts to get where they’re needed. Our crews have been working tirelessly to respond to community priorities such as blocked roads while working to clear damage and make necessary repairs to the electric system. We brought in additional crews to support the restoration effort, and our team is committed to staying on the job around-the-clock until every customer has their power back.”

Eversource reminds customers to always stay clear of downed wires — including keeping pets away — and report them immediately to 911. Outages should be reported online at www.eversource.com or by calling 800-286-2000. The energy company also reminds customers who are without power and using a generator to be sure the generator is located well away from their home or business and that the transfer switch is working properly. Customers should also be cautious when doing their own storm cleanup: when moving or cutting tree limbs, look for any wires that may be entangled in debris.

Additional safety tips are available on the safety page of Eversource’s website.

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Editor Jim Taylor can be reached at jim@thebee.com.