Town: Wet Weather Could Down More Trees

Rain continues to fall on an already saturated landscape causing some local concern that the wet conditions may make it possible for additional trees to uproot and fall.

John Valentine, Director of Public Safety for the town of Smithtown says he is seeing trees go down in places where there were no issues from Tropical Storm Irene.

“We are a little concerned about the rain Mother Nature is giving us right now,” said Valentine. “Conditions like we have seen in the past week can cause more trees to fall.”

According to the National Weather Service, rainfall totals in Northport totaled 1.40 inches by Tuesday evening with sunny skies not expected until Saturday afternoon.

The Long Island Power Authority says they still have restoration personnel who are working throughout Long Island but are more concerned with tree limbs falling then trees uprooting.

“Anytime we have a major or significant weather event there is a possibility of collateral damage,” said Vanessa Baird-Streeter, director of media relations for LIPA.

"Without the high winds, there isn’t as much of a concern for uprooted trees. Limbs could bring down a power line,” she said.

Though the town continues to deal with the aftermath of Irene, Valentine said the town has mostly recovered from the emergency caused by the storm.

“It will be quite some time before we are back to normal. The cleanup is going very well but it has significantly affected the day-to-day operations.”

In an email to Patch, Smithtown Supervisor Patrick Vecchio also said that the clean up is going well and that the town highway department has responded “admirably clearing streets, cutting trees and engaging with LIPA.” According to Vecchio, all of Smithtown has power except for a few homes in Nissequogue Village.

Clean up efforts are ongoing and Valentine urges residents to keep calling with concerns and reminders about issues they may have.

“Don’t assume we are aware, we might not be,” he said.