Caldwells Battered By Storm: Thousands Lose Power, Trees Downed

CALDWELLS, NJ — Tropical Storm Isaias hit the Caldwells hard on Tuesday, battering the area with heavy winds that tore down power lines and ripped trees out of the ground.

Now – a day after the storm – the Caldwells are still dealing with the damage left in its wake. Catch up with updates in Caldwell, North Caldwell and West Caldwell, as of Wednesday morning.

Thousands of residents in the three municipalities were still without power on Wednesday. PSE&G expects that at least 85 percent of its customers who are still without power will have it restored by Friday night, spokespeople said.

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• See related article: 50K Still Without Power In Essex County After Storm

CALDWELL

According to PSE&G’s outage map, 1,551 out of 4,193 customers in Caldwell were still affected as of noon on Wednesday.

The Caldwell Police Department issued the following advisory at 5:38 p.m. on Tuesday:

“Please use extreme caution while travelling through town as there are numerous trees down and wires. DO NOT touch any wires on the ground as they could be charged or live. We have barricaded several areas around the borough and taped off sections with downed trees and wires as we wait for PSE&G to respond.”

Caldwell police said the following roads were closed due to “hazardous conditions”:

• Mountain Avenue From Elm Road to Ferndale
• Hatfield Street between Mountain Ave and Linwood
• Hatfield Street between Erwin Place and Arlington Avenue
• Smull Avenue from Myrtle Avenue to Marshall Street
• Westover Avenue from Bloomfield Ave to Ravine Avenue
• Hillcrest Road from Ravine avenue to 13 Ravine AvenueRyerson Avenue from Bloomfield
• Avenue To Fells Manor Road
• Overlook Road in the area of Oakridge Road
• Birkendene Road From Westville Avenue to Cleveland Road
• Gould Place from Westville Ave to Cedars Road

NORTH CALDWELL

According to PSE&G’s outage map, 1,739 out of 2,614 customers in North Caldwell were still affected as of noon on Wednesday.

The storm knocked out power to several pumping stations in the borough, prompting the following alert from police at 7 a.m.:

“Please conserve water during this power outage as several pumping stations are without power. Please turn off your sprinkler systems and make every effort to conserve water. Thank you for your cooperation.”

North Caldwell police previously issued the following advisory at 7:20 p.m. on Tuesday:

“Several downed trees and utility poles have caused power outages in North Caldwell and surrounding areas. PSE&G has been notified of the outages and the need for repairs. The Fireman's Community Center is open to the public today until 8 p.m. for charging of electronics and as a cooling station. Masks are required to enter and social distancing will be enforced. A maximum occupancy of 25 people will be permitted at a time. Please call 973-228-6410, ext. 180 or check the borough website at Northcaldwell.org for updated information. PSE&G does not give the police department any information on power restoration. You may call PSE&G directly for updates at 1-800-436-7734. Thank you and stay safe.”

WEST CALDWELL

According to PSE&G’s outage map, 830 out of 4,961 customers in West Caldwell were still affected as of noon on Wednesday.

West Caldwell Mayor Joe Tempesta issued a storm update on Tuesday evening. He wrote:

“West Caldwell has experienced significant damage from the storm, including many wires down, trees down and damaged electrical transformers. We are asking if possible, to stay at home this evening to give work crews a chance to clear roads and wires. If you feel it is necessary to take advantage of West Caldwell’s cooling and charging center, we will open this evening from 5 to 10 p.m. The cooling and charging center is located in our municipal building on 30 Clinton Road on the second floor in the public meeting room. The public meeting room will be limited to 25 people at this time due to the COVID-19 rules set by the state of New Jersey. Social distancing and masks must be worn.”

Tempesta added:

“Our library will be open tomorrow from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. and will be available as a cooling and charging station as well. The library is also located at 30 Clinton Road on the first floor. Also please remember if you are using a generator make sure it is outside in an open area. We will update you again during the day tomorrow and at that time we should have better estimates from PSE&G on when power restoration will be completed.”

Tempesta issued an update on the situation on Wednesday evening.

"West Caldwell has experienced significant damage from the storm including many wires down, trees down and damaged electrical transformers. Most of our main roads and side streets are open. PSE&G has restored approximately 2,500 of the 3,000 customers in West Caldwell that lost power since yesterday afternoon. The streets that remain closed due to down trees and/or wires are Smull Avenue, and Distler Avenue. We anticipate Distler Avenue to be open soon. Runnymede Road, Sunnie Terrace, and Dawson Drive are now open."

He added:

"West Caldwell’s cooling and charging center is open and will remain open until 10:00 p.m. this evening. Our cooling/charging station will also be open from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. tomorrow. Our cooling/charging center is located at the West Caldwell Municipal building located at 30 Clinton Road. The cooling/charging center will be limited to 25 people at one time due to the Covid-19 rules set by the state of New Jersey. Social distancing and masks must be worn. Also please remember if you are using a generator make sure it is outside in an open vented area. Please be advised if you have storm debris you may put it out at the curb and the Department of Public Works will pick up this debris for the next 2 weeks. This pick up is only for storm related debris. If possible, kindly put the debris in 4 feett bundles.We will update you again during the day tomorrow and at that time we should have better estimates from PSE&G on when power restoration will be completed."

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