Snowplow Season Off To Smooth Start In Fairfield

FAIRFIELD, CT — Fairfield has weathered its first winter storm of the season and made it through relatively unscathed, according to area first responders.

Although several days of snow and rain saw Fairfield schools issue an early dismissal Monday and a late start Tuesday, the Department of Public Works didn't encounter any major problems taking the snowplows out on the roads for the first time in months.

"It went smoothly," Street Maintenance Supervisor Carlos Monteiro said. "... It was a good one to break in the season."

As of midnight Tuesday, Sikorsky Memorial Airport had received 2 inches of snowfall, according to unofficial totals from the National Weather Service, after a mix of rain and snow fell over the area Sunday and Monday, with snow overnight Monday into Tuesday.

Four public works employees were on duty through the night of Monday into Tuesday to monitor the storm, with more staffers coming in at 3 a.m. Tuesday to prepare for the commute, Monteiro said. Although flurries lingered later Tuesday morning, the heavy snow stopped around 1 a.m., according to Monteiro, and the roads were completely plowed and salted by 5:30 a.m.

The Fairfield Fire Department didn't have any storm-related crashes Monday night or Tuesday morning, according to Assistant Chief Roger Caisse, and with the exception of a few homes that had electrical issues due to utility pole service being disrupted, there were no outages.

While ice and snow can weigh down tree limbs and cause them to snap, Caisse said, the storm didn't fell any trees or branches.

"We were very fortunate in this one," he said.

It appears Fairfield's good fortune will continue in the coming days, with no snow in the forecast for the rest of the week and only a slight chance of rain Friday, according to the National Weather Service.