Irene Restoration Work Starts

Emergency crews have much work ahead of them as the town starts cleaning up from the storm that pummeled most of the eastern seaboard this weekend.

First off, the storm affected school, which will start Tuesday and all Newtown High School sports tryouts scheduled for Monday have been canceled. Check nighthawksports.com for the makeup dates."

In terms of damage, most of the most visible wreckage occured in main throughfares, such as the downed tree and wires blocking Main Street and no working traffic lights on Church Hill Road, in addition to widespread tree and utility equipment damage throughout Newtown.

Nearly 9,000 Connecticut Light & Power customers or about 80-percent of Newtown were in the dark at about 5:30 p.m.

"We should think in terms of days not hours," First Selectman Pat Llodra said Sunday of the restoration work.

Two line crews from Connecticut Light & Power arrived in Newtown during the afternon to begin to assess and start on the restoration work, and officials began targeting some crucial throughfares, for instance clearing the damage at the flagpole where a large tree fell and took out all travel lanes on Main Street.

Some of the other roadways that were blocked due to downed trees and power lines or other emergency conditions were Berkshire, Bradley, Brushy Hill, Cold Spring, Eden Hill, Great Ring, Poverty Hollow, Riverside, Sugar Street, Tamarack, Taunton Hill and Walnut Tree Hill roads.

This restoration work was the culimination of more than 24 hours of continuous emergency calls for the volunteer fire and town and police crews who spent much of the night responding to calls of downed power lines and trees into houses. Firefighters also were called to help residents pump out flooded basements.

Llodra said much of the storm impact was in tree damage on the roadways and some homes and vehicles that had trees fall on them.

"We know we have some homes with significant damage,"' she said, adding that the town is likely to see disaster relief funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Among some of the important assets in the town, school buildings in town appeared to have survived the tropical storm without significant damage, namely Newtown Middle School, which just had a new roof put on it. Crews spent Friday and Saturday buttoning down the roof to make sure the winds wouldn't compromise it.

Classes across town aren't due to start until Tuesday so the school district has a day to assess what if any damage occured.

Several roads are likely to be closed for the Monday morning commute, although Llodra said she wasn't ready to call for a delayed opening of the Municipal Center as of Sunday mid-afternoon. If a delay is called for, employees will be notified, Llodra said.

Editor's note: Newtown Patch will post information on road closures when it becomes available.