Nor'Easter Update For Mendham, Chesters

MENDHAM, NJ — As a second nor'easter batters Morris County, agencies from the Mendhams and Chesters are sharing storm tips and updates for their residents.

None of the towns have seen power fully restored from last weeks nor'easter, and those without power will have to weather this storm in the dark: power will not be restored until late Thursday night, JCP&L said. Currently, 144 in Chester Borough, 693 in Chester Township, 558 in Mendham Borough, and 524 in Mendham Township are without power.

UPDATE, THURSDAY, MARCH 8: Click here to see up-to-date information on the storm's impacts on the Mendhams and Chesters as of Thursday, March 8.

JCP&L has paused power restoration efforts due to safety concerns.

"For the safety of our workers, we have ceased work until the weather is more favorable except for life and limb emergencies. We are getting more outages from today's snow storm. Again, we will work to restore customers from the first storm before today's except where safety dictates. Our current outage counts do not necessarily reflect the work done today and also reflect ongoing current outages," JCP&L says.

Here are local updates provided in the area (check back as more updates are issued):

Mendham Township

• Snowfall rates are expected to intensify after 1PM until 6PM with whiteout conditions possible.
• Snow is expected to end this evening around 10PM
• JCPL is still out working across the township on power restoration
• The Brookside Emergency services building is currently open as a warming center- it will be open until 8PM tonight and showers are available. Brookside Fire and Mendham Twp First aid squad members are currently staffing it.
• Road conditions are expected to deteriorate and we are asking residents to not travel on the roadways unless it is absolutely necessary and you have the proper vehicle.
• Our DPW staffing is in and is closely monitoring the storm along with our Mayor who is in constant contact with our administrator and OEM coordinator as well as emergency services. He also was in contact with the governors office today relaying the issues and challenges we have been experiencing.
• Town hall offices are closed today for the storm
• DO NOT PARK ON TOWNSHIP ROADS DURING THIS STORM PLEASE
• PLOWING ONTO OR ACROSS A TOWNSHIP ROAD IS AGAINST THE LAW AND IS A SAFETY ISSUE-SUMMONS HAVE BEEN ISSUED FOR THIS SO DO NOT DO IT!
• If you have a township resident you are concerned about or need a welfare check done on, please contact our First Aid Squad at 973 543 1212.

We just received the updated forecast: crews continue to work in the area and are currently on Yardley Place and Corey Lane. We will update you again with additional street information following the afternoon call with JCP&L.

ALERT: Road conditions have deteriorated and are very treacherous currently with the snow fall increasing as well as wind. STAY OFF THE ROADS! TEMPE WICKE ROAD IN JOCKEY HOLLOW CURRENTLY CLOSED AND THERE IS A TREE DOWN ON RT 24 BY DELBARTON THE SCHOOL.

STAY OFF THE ROADS!! The road conditions are terrible and numerous vehicles, including 4-wheel drive vehicles, have been reported as disabled. The snow is going to continue to fall and we ask that you DO NOT DRIVE!

From Mayor Diegnan:

Governor Murphy has declared a State of Emergency and the Governor’s message asked that all residents stay off the roads. I have spoken to Chief Johnson and he is reporting that numerous trees are down and vehicles are getting stuck and stranded on the roads. We have additional emergency personnel working at this time to address any safety issues. In the interest of safety for our residents, DPW and emergency personnel, I request that all Mendham residents to please stay off the roads so that our DPW can plow the streets in case emergency vehicles need to be dispatched.

Chester NJ Police

• We have received information that JCP&L is headed to the following locations in town:
• Cooper Lane
• Fox Chase Road
• Furnace Road
• Rogers Road
• Rock Spring Road
• Pleasant Hill Road
• Pottersville Road
• Route 206

We are not sure when they will be getting to these locations today. More crews are scheduled to arrive in town this afternoon. JCP&L crews will keep working throughout the storm unless the wind speeds get to high. There are currently 143 people out of power in Chester Borough and 688 in Chester Township as of 12:11 today.

If your power has not been restored please verify or re-report your outage to JCP&L at 1-888-544-4877 or by their mobile app. You can also text "Out" to 544487, you will need your account number to register. Once registered text "Stat" to 544487 to receive current estimated update restoration times.
We know that this is extemely frustrating to those have not had their power restored. They repair the largest reported outages first and then work their way down to single outages.

The Chesters

From Chester Police: Please stay off roads until further notice. Conditions rapidly deteriorating. Shelter in place.

Our Police Chief is working tirelessly in the name of public safety to get the roads open and power restored. The Mayors and Police Chief are in constant contact. Even though the information we put out may not be what you are looking for, it's all we have.

We wish to thank everyone for the feedback you've been sending our way. We'll be working with JCP&L and other elected county and state officials, as well as our own Borough and Township staff to determine how we could improve procedures and information in the event of another serious weather event.
We thank you for your patience and kindness both to each other and to the workers who are on the ground.

JCP&L

MARCH 7 EVENING UPDATE: As we shared earlier, conditions are worsening as #Quinn blows through. While the heavy snow is preventing many of our crews from performing restoration work at this time, they are on hand to resume as soon as the weather permits.
At this time we cannot predict any additional impact this storm may have on electric service or ongoing restoration efforts, but significant snow accumulations will create additional outages and slow our work. Customers who have been out the longest are our top priority, and any new outages will be restored based on our storm process.
We know this is extremely difficult, and we thank you all for your fortitude and support of our crews.

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