High winds and drenching rain created chaos within chaos on Monday, April 13, 2020. As residents dealt with the stresses of social distancing due to COVID-19 concerns, nature dealt another challenge, with trees and wires down in every section of town at some point, and hundreds left without power.

According to Eversource, up to 40,000 Connecticut residents had suffered power outages by 4 pm on Monday, with just over 200 Newtown residents still waiting for recovery on Tuesday morning, April 14.

Maureen Will, director of the Emergency Communications Center, in addressing emergency responders’ protocols toward coronavirus when on a call, said on Tuesday morning that the fire departments “responded as they always have.”

Fire reports provided to The Newtown Bee show 16 calls for wires down, and many of those calls included toppled trees and large branches on wires and across roads, as well.

Midafternoon on Monday, one of many calls included a possible structure fire, “[a] generator caught fire but was extinguished quickly and it was right during a downpour,” said Will.

She was pleased with the immediate response received from Eversource during the storm. “Bill Halstead just called me, he has been in touch with our rep from Eversource and they are checking on roads,” Will reported Tuesday morning, with approximately four to five roads in town still impacted by the storm.

The Newtown Emergency Communications Center is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days of the week. Contact the Communications Center at 203-270-4200. For emergencies, call 911.