Severe Storm Knocks Out Power To Over 1,000 Customers

By Andrew Gorosko

A severe thunderstorm which passed through the area midday Friday, August 10, discharged dozens of lightning strikes, causing many trees to fall and creating electrical failures for 1,023 local power company customers.

The torrential storm, which dropped sizeable hail, saw local firefighters respond to 35 calls for service throughout the afternoon and into the evening. Newtown Hook & Ladder, Sandy Hook, Botsford, Dodgingtown and Hawleyville firefighters all had their hands full as they bounded from incident to incident during and after the storm. 

Corey Robinson, the first assistant chief at Newtown Hook & Ladder Volunteer Fire Company, said the storm made for the busiest day he has ever experienced. Hook & Ladder received 19 calls. Sandy Hook firefighters received 14 calls.

At 1:08 pm, Hook & Ladder and Sandy Hook firefighters received a report of an electrical fire and smoke condition at the police station at 3 Main Street. Lightning had struck an outdoor electrical transformer, creating an electrical fire. Smoke from that exterior fire followed electrical conduits and entered the building.

The building’s diesel-powered electrical generator turned itself on to supply back-up electricity to the station, but that generator failed later in the afternoon, resulting in essential police department functions, such as radio dispatching, being switched over to battery power, said Fred Hurley, the town’s director of public works.

Police Chief Michael Kehoe said the police department always had the use of its station-based radios during the storm and its aftermath.

The police department operated on battery power for about three hours, from 5:30 to 8:30 pm, he said.

Batteries in the police station powered the police radio system and essential computers. A generator housed in the department’s multipurpose vehicle parked alongside the building provided electricity for police station interior lighting.

When voltage in the station’s storage batteries dropped, police switched over the town’s 911 emergency call system to Southbury for about two hours, Chief Kehoe said

Although the storm caused an overwhelming volume of calls for service to the police, the department managed to keep its communications systems functioning through the emergency, he said.

The generator in the basement beneath the police station is under repair, Mr Kehoe said. The town plans to replace it with a new, more powerful generator after the combined dispatch center within the building is completed, he said. 

The storm also caused a power failure at Edmond Town Hall, where a gas-powered generator was pressed into service to temporarily supply electricity to the building, Mr Hurley said.

Lightning Strikes

Lightning bolts discharged by the storm struck several local buildings, Fire Marshal Bill Halstead reported.

At 1:32 pm, at the Stephens residence on Cedar Hill Road, lightning struck two trees in the yard and followed drainpipes toward the house, said Mr Halstead said. The lightning bolt damaged the building’s roof and burned some insulation in the attic. There were no injuries in the blaze, he added. A damage estimate was not available.

At a Skidmore Lane residence in Sandy Hook, a lightning strike blew a hole in a concrete floor in the basement, ejecting concrete. The flying concrete damaged electrical equipment and drainage lines, Mr Halstead said. Firefighters reported to that scene at 3:28 pm.

Other reports of residential lightning strikes came from Sturges Road, Kent Road, Purdy Station Road, and Wilderness West, among others.

Although the storm occurred at midday, when the town’s five local fire companies are at relatively low staffing levels, the fire companies were able to adequately respond to the many calls, Mr Halstead said. Sandy Hook dispatched 19 firefighters using seven fire trucks, said Mr Halstead, who is also Sandy Hook’s fire chief.

Firemen went to public schools as fire alarms sounded, the devices having been triggered by voltage fluctuations due to lightning.

Firefighters also went to many reports of electrical lines brought down by fallen trees, which had been struck by lightning.

At 1:02 pm, Hook & Ladder and Hawleyville firemen went to 11 Currituck Road on a report of wires down due to a fallen tree. Town crews later cleared away the debris and reopened the road to traffic.

At 1:10 pm, Botsford, Sandy Hook and Hook & Ladder firemen went to the Ashlar nursing home on Toddy Hill Road for a report of sparks flying in the building.

  At 1:13 pm, Sandy Hook firemen went to Dayton Street in Sandy Hook Center, where a large fallen tree had pulled down power lines and damaged three utility poles. The town closed a section of that street to traffic until utility repairs could be made. 

Roz Wimbish, a spokeswoman for the Connecticut Light and Power Company (CL&P), said 1,023 CL&P customers were without electricity for some period during the storm and its aftermath. CL&P workmen restored electrical power to all affected customers by 7:55 pm Saturday, she said.

Local streets which experienced power outages included Arrowhead Lane, Birch Hill Road, Blanche’s Walk, Brushy Hill Road, Button Shop Road, Dayton Street, Dusty Lane, Hundred Acres Road, Lakeview Terrace, Phyllis Lane, Platts Hill Road, Pond Brook Road, Plumtrees Road, Poverty Hollow Road, Sand Hill Road, Serenity Lane, Shepard Hill Road, Sturges Road, Sugar Street, Swamp Road, Tanglewood Lane, Taunton Ridge Road, Town’s End Road, and Woodbine Lane.

Ms Wimbish said lightning striking electrical equipment caused the power outages.