Maplewood Prepares For Weekend Winter Blast

MAPLEWOOD, NJ - Warming stations are prepared, code blue has been declared and PSE&G stands ready as Maplewood prepares for its first significant snowfall since November this weekend.

Forecasts are currently calling for heavy mixed precipitation possible. Total snow and sleet accumulations of 3 to 6 inches and ice accumulations of
up to one tenth of an inch possible. Then temperatures are supposed to plunge in the single digits.

Warming Station
According to officials, the Township’s warming station is located at the DeHart Community Center, 120 Burnett Ave for anyone without access to heat when temperatures drop, but note a separate notification will go out once it is determined that access to the Center is needed.

Hydrant Clearing
Winter storms can often hide fire hydrants under a mountain of snow making them impossible to find quickly. The Maplewood Fire Department would like to remind residents to please “Adopt-a-Hydrant” and shovel in front of and around the fire hydrant closest to your home so that firefighters can see and access it. If possible, please clear the snow three feet in all directions and clear the access from the street to make it possible for firefighters to attach hose lines to the hydrant. Seconds count during a fire and the time it takes a firefighter to dig out a buried hydrant could make all the difference in the outcome at a fire. Firefighters will be checking hydrants and digging them out as needed after the storm, but any assistance residents can provide will be helpful in the event of a fire. We realize that the last thing anyone wants to do after shoveling out their property is to clear more snow but the extra effort could be life-saving

Office Closures
Please note Township offices will be closing Monday, January 21, 2019 for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The Maplewood Library will also be closed Monday in observance of the MLK holiday. Emergency Personnel/Departments (Police & Fire) will remain open.

The Maplewood PD’s emergency phone number is 973-762-1234.

Code Blue
Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. and Essex County Sheriff Armando Fontoura announced the Essex County’s Code Blue procedures are being activated because extreme cold weather and snow in the forecast. The Code Blue will be in effect from Thursday, January 17th through Tuesday, January 22nd. A network of warming stations operated by the County and its municipalities and shelters operated by the community based organizations are available. A list of available warming stations and shelters is available on http://www.NJ211.org and by dialing 2-1-1.

PSE&G
PSE&G will continue to monitor the weather and will adjust plans as necessary based on updated forecasts. The utility will also have additional service technicians working to respond to “no heat” calls as a result of malfunctioning heating systems.

In anticipation of the storm, PSE&G is taking the following steps to ensure that the utility is ready to respond to any resulting power outages:

Customers should be cautious and stay alert to their surroundings during and after storms. With this being the first major weather event of the winter season, here are a few tips for preparing for the storm and how to stay connected with PSE&G should you experience an outage.

What you can do now:

• Be ready to communicate about your situation.
• Make sure you have a family emergency plan.
• Review storm preparation tips; visit https://nj.pseg.com/safetyandr...
• Stay connected with PSE&G:
• Compile a list of emergency phone numbers; include PSE&G Customer Service 1-800-436-PSEG.
• Go to pseg.com/myaccount to sign up to report outages online and to check restoration progress.
• Go to pseg.com/outagecenter to check the “Outage Map,” which is updated every 15 minutes with PSE&G outage information, and to register for MyAlerts to receive text notifications.
• You can report an outage by texting “OUT” to 4PSEG (47734).

(Photo courtesy of Shutterstock)

Thanks for reading! Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site here. Have a news tip you'd like to share? Or maybe you have a press release you would like to submit or a correction you'd like to request? Send an email to russ.crespolini@patch.com

Subscribe to your local Patch newsletter by clicking here. You can also have them delivered to your phone screen by downloading our Apple iOS app here, or by visiting the Google Play store for the Android app here.