UPDATED: Storm Hits The Caldwells; Trees Down, Roads Impassable

CALDWELLS, NJ — The Caldwells were among several Essex County towns hit hard by Wednesday’s storm and its heavy, wet snow, which left roads treacherous and caused downed wires and power outages throughout the area, officials said.

The Caldwell-West Caldwell School District closed its schools on Thursday due to the storm’s aftermath. District administrators announced that classes will also be canceled on Friday, March 9.

The Caldwell Police Department issued an advisory at 7:56 a.m. on Thursday:

“The Caldwell OEM will be hosting a Warming Center at Lincoln School today from noon to 6 p.m. Please do not park on the roads as our DPW are still working to clear all of them and many of the streets are narrow as a result of the snow, downed trees/branches and utility lines. We remind everyone to never touch a downed utility line and please shovel out the fire hydrants near you. If you are going to use a generator please make sure it is a safe distance from your home.”

The Caldwell OEM said that a warming center at Lincoln School was open on Thursday from noon to 6 p.m.

"Please do not park on the roads as our DPW are still working to clear all of them and many of the streets are narrow as a result of the snow, downed trees/branches and utility lines," the Caldwell OEM stated. "We remind everyone to never touch a downed utility line and please shovel out the fire hydrants near you. If you are going to use a generator please make sure it is a safe distance from your home."

The West Caldwell Police Department issued the following advisory on Wednesday evening:

“There are numerous trees and wires down all over town. Roads are impassable. Stay away from wires! Stay indoors!”

According to the West Caldwell Fire Department, "numerous" wires were down throughout the township due to the storm.

On Thursday, the West Caldwell Public Library said that it was open, and had coffee and a place for residents to charge their devices.

The North Caldwell Police Department issued the following advisory on Thursday morning:

“Due to the snowstorm, trash collection scheduled for Thursday, March 8 is cancelled. All residents with a normal Thursday collection will have trash collected on your next regular collection day.”

North Caldwell police added the following update at 10:42 a.m. on Thursday:

"Please be aware that the storm has taken down multiple trees, limbs and power lines causing road closures and power outages throughout the Borough. We are asking all residents to stay in their homes and not to travel unless it is an absolute emergency. DO NOT go near or touch any downed wires. Please call 911 for emergencies only!"

A large tree fell in North Caldwell and took down power lines, a Fox 5 News reporter posted on Twitter.

The Caldwells weren’t the only Essex County towns hit hard by the storm. Flights were canceled in Newark, roads became impassable in Verona and Cedar Grove, car crashes were reported in Millburn, downed power lines were seen in Maplewood and Livingston and trees were down in Montclair. Check out the below article for more examples of storm damage and issues in Essex County.

• See related article: Essex County Sees Crashes, Outages, Bad Roads

PSE&G: 80,000 LOSE POWER

If you lost power during the storm, you weren’t the only one. PSE&G said that about 80,000 of its 2.2 million customers were without power as a result of yesterday’s storm.

According to PSE&G:

Working overnight and this morning, the utility has restored about 190,000 customers since the storm began.

• Heavy, wet snow brought down large trees, branches and wires across PSE&G’s service territory. Electric service crews worked through the night and will continue to work in difficult conditions to restore outages as safely and as quickly as possible.
• The restoration process will likely take several days given the damage from falling trees that will need to be cleared. The utility is mobilizing additional employees to help with damage assessment so that it can better determine restoration times. We ask our customers to be patient as we deal with these difficult conditions and work to safely restore power.
• PSE&G’s 16 walk-in customer service centers are expected to open at 10 a.m. on Thursday.
• Downed wires should always be considered “live.” Do not approach or drive over a downed line and do not touch anything that it might be in contact with.
• To prevent carbon monoxide poisoning, do not run any gasoline powered engine, including generators and snow blowers, in a garage or any other enclosed space. Clear snow from dryer and hot water heater vents.
• PSE&G encourages customers to report downed wires and power outages by logging in to My Account on www.pseg.com, texting the word “OUT” to 4PSEG, or calling PSE&G’s Customer Service line at 1-800-436-PSEG.
• The utility offers customers a number of ways to stay in touch and informed before, during and after a storm. These tools can be found at PSE&G’s mobile-friendly website www.pseg.com in the “Storm Center.” Updated every 15 minutes, PSE&G’s mobile-friendly “Outage Map” displays the location and status of power outages.

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Photo: Sharon Coniglio of North Caldwell