Morris County Power Restoration Pushed To Thursday For Some Towns

LONG VALLEY, NJ — The wait for power just got a little longer in Morris County. After saying power would be back for all by Wednesday, JCP&L is now estimating a Thursday night restoration for some towns. As of 11:24 a.m. Tuesday, 14,694 homes remain without power in the county, down from 51,000 Friday afternoon.

UPDATE, 7:11 a.m. Thursday: A second nor'easter has changed restoration times. Click here for the latest news.

Originally JCP&L said Southern Morris County will see power come back Tuesday night, while the northern half will have to wait until Wednesday night. Now, some towns across the county will have to wait until Thursday night. Some isolated homes could see longer outages, the company warns. (See an updated town-by-town breakdown of current outages and restoration times below).

Restoration efforts will continue through Tuesday and Wednesday's storm, but will not be completed by the time the storm hits. The storm is expected to dump anywhere from 7 to 20 inches of snow on the region, depending on the elevation of each town. (See storm preparedness tips below.)

"JCP&L is hyper-aware of impending snow on Wednesday and the ability of our towns' DPW trucks to plow where there are still wires and trees across the roads," Chester Township officials said. "JCP&L crews can and will work through snow, although the bucket trucks will be shut down if winds reach 35-40 mph."

"County OEM officials spoke with members of the JCP&L team earlier this morning, and it does not appear that we will see a total resolution prior to the arrival of this next storm," Morris County OEM officials said.

• Read More: Winter Storm Warnings Expand To 17 Counties For 2nd Nor'easter
• Read More: Lawmakers Want Murphy To Declare Emergency After Nor'easter

The Morris County Office of Emergency Management is also monitoring Tuesday night's storm, and are not expecting it to be as harsh as las week's nor'easter.

"Confidence is high this will be a plowable event with at least 3-inches of snow. Although there are still uncertainties with the specific storm track, snow potential could end up being much higher in some areas, with the possibility of 3 to 7 inches of snow," the agency said. "Morris County OEM will continue to monitor the storm track. Although we will not have the magnitude of winds that we just experienced on Friday, we will have a breezy risk that will pose a risk for trees/power lines to come down as well as heavy, wet snow."

While waiting for roads to be cleared, residents should avoid downed power lines entirely, the county warned. On Friday, a Sussex County man was killed when he came into contact with downed power lines.

"Customers should never go near a downed power line, even if they think it is no longer carrying electricity. Extra caution should be used in areas where downed lines are tangled in trees or other debris," county officials said.

The prolonged power outages are causing tensions to run high in some cases. A Vernon man was arrested over the weekend for allegedly threatening to bomb a JCP&L substation.

• Read More: Man Threatened To Bomb JCP&L Over North Jersey Power Outage

Here's how many outages your town still has as of 11:2 a.m. Tuesday, and when power will be restored:

If you don't see your town listed, there are no current JCP&L outages. Times may change based on the severity of Tuesday night's storm.

County storm preparedness tips

Prepare at Home: Stock up!

• Food that doesn’t require heating or refrigeration
• Water (1 gallon per person per day)
• Flashlights and batteries
• Battery powered or hand-crank radio
• Battery powered clock
• First Aid Kit
• Medications and Medical Items (if necessary)
• Cellphones with chargers
• Pet food, water, and additional supplies
• Baby supplies (formula, bottles, diapers, etc.)
• Alternate heating methods (wood, coal burning stoves, etc.)
• Warm coats, gloves or mittens, boots, and extra blankets

On the Road: Winterize your vehicle.

• Keep the gas tank full. A full tank will keep the fuel line from freezing.
• Check tires for proper inflation
• Check antifreeze
• Pack emergency supplies in a backpack for a kit on-the-go:
  • Ice scraper
  • Jumper cables
  • Tire chains
  • Small shovel
  • First Aid Kit
  • Flashlight and batteries
  • Warning Flares or reflective triangle

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