[Update 6:30 p.m.] Damage in Granby Could Have Been Worse

Despite at one point having 55 percent of its CL&P customers lose power, Granby held up pretty well in the face of Hurricane Irene, according to town officials.

Town Manager Bill Smith said that many parts of the town, including North Granby and the town center, had power restored by this morning.

However, much of West Granby, which was the hardest hit part of town, was still without power, Smith said.

According to the CL&P website, about 28 percent of Granby - or 1,337 out of 4,692 customers - was without power as of 12 p.m. Monday.

Smith said that he could not estimate when people would have their power restored, as CL&P’s first priority is to get the most homes back on line, meaning that a person without power because of a tree cutting a power line to a single home would probably be further back on the list.

Nevertheless, Smith said that he was pleased with the outcome of the hurricane, which he said was “more bark than bite.”

“I think it went well,” Smith said in an interview at Town Hall this morning. “Most of the actual hazards were the result of flooding on the roads. … We had several inquiries, but we did not have to shelter anybody, at least not yet.”

As of 9:30 a.m., about a dozen roads in Granby were still impassable because of the flooding, Smith said, including a bridge just west of the intersection of Rte 20 and 219 that was washed out because of the storm.

Still, town officials wound up closing the Emergency Operations Center at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, after the heaviest portion of the storm had either passed through or broken up.

“We still had crews out, but there was no sense in keeping the EOC open,” Smith said.

Despite the damage to roads and losses of power, Smith said that the town was fortunate in many ways.

“There were no reported catastrophic or major injuries reported, at least none that I’ve heard of,” Smith said. “[The response] was A-1; we were on top of everything, from police to fire to ambulance to public works to schools.

“I’m happy that it wasn’t any worse. There was a lot of rain, but the wind wasn’t that bad. There was more rain than I’d ever seen. But, it didn’t come through with a blast.”

Granby's first day of school canceled

According to an announcement on the Granby Public Schools website, the first day of school in Granby scheduled for Aug. 30 has been canceled.

Here is the statement posted on the site:

"Please be advised that due to a variety of issues related to the aftermath of the hurricane, such as the loss of power to two schools, safety issues, significant transportation issues due to road closings, food preparation problems, and ensuring timely communication to our parents without power, all schools will be closed tomorrow, Tuesday, August 30. We are hopeful that all schools will open for the first day of school on Wednesday, August 31 and we will provide you with an update tomorrow."