Date: Fri 21-Aug-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

weather-storm-police

Full Text:

Wow! What A Storm!

(with photos)

The whole town just exploded, said Henry Stormer moments after Tuesday's

violent thunderstorm.

The detective was helping out in the police department's dispatch room when

the calls starting coming in. The brief but intense storm hit at 3 pm in the

central part of town, blowing down trees which blocked roads, downing power

lines which caused electrical outages, and making it very difficult to drive

in intense blinding rains. Some said they hadn't seen it rain that hard in

several years.

Fierce bolts of lightning came crackling down.

Ironically, other parts of town, including Dodgingtown, never even got a drop

of rain. At least not then. More rain followed a few hours later, creating a

soggy mess.

According to Adam Futterman of the Weather Center at Western Connecticut State

University, it was just your typical thunderstorm. However, because there was

an abundance of moisture in the air, the rain came down in buckets.

Newtown Hook and Ladder Fire Chief David Ober said a large broad leaf tree was

blown down onto Castle Hill Road near its intersection with Head O' Meadow

Road, blocking traffic. Downed electrical lines there caused a power failure

in that area that lasted more than 12 hours, he said.

Hook and Ladder responded to other blocked roadways at The Boulevard, Wendover

Road and Queen Street.

Newtown Hook and Ladder went to eight storm-related calls during a two-hour

period.

Sandy Hook firefighters went to a half-dozen calls, said Fire Chief Bill

Halstead. A fallen tree blocked Bradley Lane near Great Ring Road, he said.

Some partial road blockages were also reported.

Chief Ober urged that bystanders not go near downed wires or near trees that

are lying over wires, pointing out that people must always assume that a wire

is a live wire for safety's sake.

Even firefighters do not deal with downed wires, he noted, adding the local

electrical utility is called to have their crews eliminate any safety hazards.

Head dispatcher Jim Crouch said eight calls came in for reports of wires down

within just 15 minutes.

Carole Ross of the first selectman's office noticed how busy it had become and

rushed down to assist dispatchers Danielle Borges and BJ Halstead.