PSE&G Crews Working in Mountain House Rd. Area

PSE&G crews are still at work Thursday afternoon to repair power lines that were taken down during Wednesday's storm.

According to South Orange Fire Chief Jeffrey Markey, calls started coming in at 2:40 p.m. Wednesday and didn't taper off until midnight. The fire department responded to 17 calls in total, ranging from active alarms to downed wires.

The hardest hit neighborhood appeared to be the area around Meadowbrook Park, including Hillside Place and Meeker Street, where two primary wires were knocked down, leaving some homes without power last night, he said. The occupants of two houses were asked to leave for the night due to the dangerous condition caused by live wires energizing wet ground.

PSE&G crews were working through the night and continued Thursday afternoon at locations including Hillside Place and Mountain House Road.

According to Meadowbrook Lane resident Jack Matthews, who lives at the corner of Mountain House Road, a large branch from a maple tree fell in his front yard around 2 p.m. on Wednesday, blocking his front door and driveway. "I walked to the front and couldn't even see out of the door," he said.

Department of Public Works crews came later on Wednesday afternoon to clear the branches blocking his driveway. He was instructed to move the remaining debris in the yard to the curb so that DPW employees could remove it on Thursday.