Township of Fairfield Issues Evacuation Order

Fairfield issued an evacuation order in flood prone areas on Friday, according to a message from the Fairfield Office of Emergency Management posted on the township's website.

The message says the Fairfield Fire Department would be evacuating homes in those areas throughout the day on Friday. Residents who have experienced flooding in the past have been asked all week to self-evacuate.

A shelter for residents was established in the Fairfield Community Center on Hollywood Avenue around 2:30 p.m. Friday. The temporary shelter will be staffed by members of the .

Bloomfield Avenue near Globe Mercedes in Fairfield remains closed Saturday due to flooding, West Caldwell Police Chief Michael Bramhall has reported. Motorists must detour from both directions north onto Clinton Road

Willowbrook Mall in Wayne remains closed Saturday according to the shopping center's Facebook page. The mall closed early Friday at 4 p.m. 

Target in Fairfield is open but only reachable by Route 80 said a store employee. According to reports, Route 46 from Target to Willowbrook Mall is flooded as is Little Falls Road in Fairfield.

The Passaic River is expected to crest higher than 22 feet early in the morning on Sunday, creating a situation reminiscent if not worse than the flooding Fairfield experienced in 2010.

“Should the waters crest on Sunday at the predicted level it will mark the third greatest flood on record at the Little Falls gauging station on the Passaic River,” explained State Climatologist David Robinson Friday. “Records go back to at least 1903, as it was an October flood that year which ranks as the largest on record.”

According to Robinson, the April 1984 flood is second and to the hour the March 2010 flood is third and the April 2007 flood ranks fourth.  

Robinson said between four and five inches of rain fell in the Essex County area with the last two rainfalls, which is just abou a month’s worth of rainfall in a five-day period.

North Caldwell Police Chief Mark Deuer said he had received a call Friday afternoon to deploy officers to Fairfield to assist with the effort.

Gov. Chris Christie has declared a State of Emergency, which gives Fairfield authority to evacuate residents.

U.S. Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) visited Wayne Friday and called on President Barack Obama to work with the state of New Jersey to make a federal disaster declaration, according to a press release.

The declaration could provide financial support from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to New Jersey communities hit hardest by the storm.

“Flooding is expected to continue, which will increase damages and raise clean-up and recovery costs,” Lautenberg, the Vice Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee that funds (FEMA), wrote in a letter to President Obama. “This will be a significant burden for families and local governments that are facing tight budgets. These communities and our citizens deserve all the support that can be provided.”

Story updated Saturday on March 12 at 10:45 a.m. Patch will bring you updates as more information becomes available.