Get Wires Out of Street, Area Officials Urge JCP&L
Wires that haven't been checked or removed hamper local cleanup efforts, officials say.
Photos
Untested wires, transformers and other electrical equipment still has been laying on streets and even state and county roads in Bernardsville and Basking Ridge, hampering cleanup efforts to clear streets and, in the borough, trapping some residents on impassable roads.
As of Wednesday night, Bernardsville Councilman Joe Rossi said some residents remained trapped in their homes, since trees and road debris have led to a situation where the road department or others cannot clear the roadways.
Resident injured removing tree
That also has led to a situation where some residents are trying to take the situation into their own hands, Rossi said. One borough resident was injured trying to remove a tree and had to be rescued with the borough's new all-terrain vehicle that was able to travel off road, he said.
"The most important thing when we have something like this is to have crews available to clear the trees or at least to have a licensed electrician available in to say what's live and what's not," Rossi said.
On Thursday morning, he said he had not seen work being performed on wires, and he said he believed any removed from the road had been removed by road crews trying to improve the situation.
Wires prevent trees from being removed in Bernards Township and Bernardsville
Earlier on Wednesday, Bernards Township Committeeman John Malay said that while power might take up to two weeks to restore in some places as the power company concentrated on fixing major transformers, substations and larger population areas.
But with wires across or down on many Bernards streets, particularly in northern Basking Ridge, Malay said that having JCP&L remove wires and electrical equipment on streets or in falling trees should be as high a priority for the power company.
Emergency officials, including Bernards Township Administrator Bruce McArthur said that the township's department of public works can't remove trees until the wires are removed.
"We are working hard to clear the roads as best we can but many areas are still inaccessible at this time," Bernardsville Police Chief Kevin Valentine said on Wednesday night.
"We are working with JCP&L to clear trees that have power lines mixed with them," Valentine said.
Valentine added the police department is doing a street-to-street assessment of the borough in an attempt to identify residents with special needs.
"Residents are urged to conserve fuel (gasoline and diesel) as fuel is difficult to find at this time and may not be readily available to fill generators or vehicles," Valentine said.
Having roads blocked by wires means that even residents without special needs are inaccessible for emergency vehicles if they become ill or are injured, Rossi said.
Rossi said there is no excuse for JCP&L not to have arranged beforehand to have a certified employee in the area to at least test wires and make sure they could be safely removed.
"They should have been here before the storm," he said, noting that Sandy's arrival had been predicted and tracked well ahead of time.
On the third day after Sandy, right near the center of the borough, three transformers were laying at the side of Childs Road, although the large fallen tree blocking Somerset Hills Village had been removed.
But Rossi said that many county and even state roads remained littered with wires and trees, all of which create a hazard.
Rossi said that as far as he could see, JCP&L had not taken any precautionary measures. "There's no cones, no illuminated tape on the wires," he noted.
Rossi added he will complain to the county and the state for not keeping those roads passable. Route 202 also had wires on that state highway, he said. The road between Far Hills and Bernardsville reportedly remained blocked on Thursday.
As for JCP&L, Rossi said, "The power company should lose their license to operate in the state."
A JCP&L representative did not respond to an email on Thursday after for information.
MBrook
12:55 pm on Thursday, November 1, 2012
JCP&L should get kicked out the state. They are incompetent from management to the workers (yes even the workers, I've experienced this first hand) Sorry officials your also incompetent & worthless. You must have done something to piss off JCP&L as Basking Ridge seems to always be forgotten when it comes to be repaired.
J.Mackey
8:52 am on Saturday, November 3, 2012
Let's be fair and acknowledge that JCP&L has a huge and complex task at hand to restore power to their service areas. Let's also acknowledge that relatively speaking BR has not been triaged as top priority by thepower company. Having said that, it is appalling how little information's available now five days into this ordeal. We are told by township officials that the reason we saw such little activity on the roads at first was that JCP&L was completing their "damage assessment". That sounds like a reasonable first step in determining their resource deployment. However, now that they have finished assessing, why can't they give us more information than vague generalities around power restoration. IF they now have a plan, they must know what neighborhoods are expected to be brought up when. maybe they are concerned about customer backlash that certain neighborhoods are being prioritized over others. So long as they communicate theirmpriorities in the context of the damage assessment I fail to see how this becomes a major issue. People need to make decisions and plan their lives. I, for one, would appreciate an honest, fact-based target date (even if it is a disappointing one) over the "one size fits all" generalities we are getting now. Finally, why doesn't JCP&L deploy communications emissaries to the various towns to deal with disaster recovery? Town officials need a "go to" person to liase with. Live and learn, JCP&L!
CraiginNJ
9:17 am on Saturday, November 3, 2012
J.Mackey,
To be fair JCP&L is *starting* to get their act together here. If you look at the updates published every few hours (from 9am to 9pm) here:
http://bernards.org/community/Announcements/Default.aspx
and look at the latest one, you can see that JCP&L does have "a plan" that, if it works out like they hope, will restore 41% of Bernards Twp. by tomorrow night.
So it sounds like they finally do "have a plan" and we hope that what we see happen lives up to that. I assume I won't be in that 41%, but when I see them get there (tomorrow?) I will feel much better even if I don't feel any warmer yet. If that 41% includes more gas stations to keep my car warm and smartphone charged, at least I'll be able to cope for an extra couple of days.
gary newman
1:04 pm on Thursday, November 1, 2012
gary n---have rode around town for the last 3 days and have yet to see a single JCP&L truck or any tree/line work being done....how can this possibly be? and the only update on their site says, "7-10 days"...my dog could provide better updates...
Linda Sadlouskos
1:33 pm on Thursday, November 1, 2012
Basking Ridge resident says on Basking Ridge Facebook (www.facebook.com/ridgepatch?fref=ts) Pill Hill and part of Mount Airy still inaccessible. Anyone totally blocked? How are you coping?
Dale Burke
2:31 pm on Thursday, November 1, 2012
U live in a REPUBLICAN town. DUH! Did u MISS the pix of the photo op at the Jersey shore? He didn't NEED to come and waste taxpayers dollars on fuel, THEN the security b/c he just HAD to get OFF the plane. He just had to watch FOX CABLE - oh, wait, he HATES FOX! We r senior citizens and did EVERYTHING we were told to do. We have enough water to last till the Third Millennium, enough canned food to feed all of our troops in the Middle East. I stood in line for 3.5 hours to get the largest generator. I went to FOUR stores and have 212 batteries of EVERY SIZE. I bought four ADDITIONAL flash lights. Our refrigerator is PACKED. We have two small electric heaters. We have a five gallon, a 2.5 gallon and three one gallon containers. All set!!! No gas!!!! Called.congressman Lance office and was told, "you SHOULD have been more prepared". REALLY? No YOU - Our State government should have been more prepared. YOU aw the same reports WE saw. YOU should have had GENERATORS at various stations to PUMP! You r ALL incompetent.
Bruce Cohen
4:58 pm on Thursday, November 1, 2012
Wires & trees must be removed from King George Rd before power can be restored. Nothing is being done, Does anyone care?
Madhavi Saifee
5:14 pm on Thursday, November 1, 2012
The Basking Ridge area of the Hills has just gotten their power back.
RV
6:51 pm on Thursday, November 1, 2012
Not true at all. The basking ridge section still has no power.
Chris
6:58 pm on Thursday, November 1, 2012
Liberty ridge in the hill no power
Madhavi Saifee
7:15 pm on Thursday, November 1, 2012
At the time I posted that comment - Green Mountain, Indenpendence and Raritan (Roads) in the Hills had gotten power back. Hope all in Hills get power soon. Personally I am on the other side of Basking Ridge - we are just hoping for sometime this weekend.
Barbara Brooks
7:31 pm on Thursday, November 1, 2012
Anyone seriously hurt? Anybody hit as hard as many of our fellow Jerseyans & New Yorkers? Expecting miracles from other human beings overwhelmed by a natural disaster? Feeling inconvenienced and entitled to only the best all the time because you live in the Basking Ridge bubble?
Try counting your blessings. Much of the world would still rather be in your shoes.
Andrew Holz
7:58 pm on Thursday, November 1, 2012
Really Barbara Brooks??? What gives you the right to attack the people of Basking Ridge??? Get a life!!!
NAOMI M
4:55 am on Friday, November 2, 2012
Thank you Ms Brooks, well said.
Andrew Holz
8:10 pm on Thursday, November 1, 2012
Basking Ridge is a wonderful town and the people in the community are what make it special. They deserve the best!!!
Thomas Harrigan
8:17 pm on Thursday, November 1, 2012
I think Barbara has a point. Its unfortunate that the power may be out for a prolonged period, but I suggest everyone use the opportunity to spend some quality time with their families. Take a step back and recognize what is important, which is family, not having a place to charge your smartphone or even gas in your car. Sure that stuff is nice, but it wouldn't be important if you didn't have friends and family to communicate with or people you had to drive to see. So I think everyone should sit by the fireplace with their family, and play board games and read books by candlelight, find ways to entertain yourselves and stay warm. Nobody needs fuel or a generator, you may think you do but there are billions in the world who would love to have that, and some that voluntarily forgo such luxuries by choice, such as the amish, and get along fine. This is a time for family, not for fighting and complaining about who isn't doing their job.
esther
10:38 pm on Thursday, November 1, 2012
Thomas,
I agree with you. No one has any idea what JCP&L is dealing with as far as recovery goes. I know I do not. To tell you the truth I can't imagine having to deal with the amount of trees down, wires, poles, and outages. People are coming from all over the country to help. Just because they haven't gotten to your street MBrook doesn't mean they are not trying. 100 mile per hour winds are pretty devestating. I have children and we ate food heated on the BBQ and built a lot of memories. We laughed and reminisced and talked. Really talked by candle light. This can either be awful or a time to be cherished. I chose the latter, put on two sweaters, two pair of socks and two pair of sweats and laughed with my kids about how funny I looked. This will pass. Too bad in some ways. So many people had devastation-the stories from the shore are horrific. I am lucky and know it.
NAOMI M
5:15 am on Friday, November 2, 2012
I understand why people get upset. We got hit hard with this storm. It looks bad, yes. Everybody is, believe it or not, doing their job to get everything up and running. What surprised me most in this storm was that the people in Bernardsville seemed (at least to me) to be more willing to do things to help each other out. I ask that you be patient. I, myself just learned why JCP&L trucks don't just come straight to a neighborhood the day of a major storm. I didn't know they had to repair transmission lines & substations first. Take it easy on them. Their jobs aren't easy. We need them. Be grateful for what you have. The news stories of the devestation are aweful. We are terribly inconvenianced, yes, but we're still alive. & thanks Thomas, enough about the who's not doing their job. . really. Everybody's doing their best.
MBrook
9:08 pm on Thursday, November 1, 2012
We have two young kids and this is the third time we have been affected. I do not care about smart phones however trying to feed my children and keep them warm are basic necessities in my world that no boardgame will help. I am thankful that no one was hurt but believe me when I tell you this is about JCP&L not my morals. We teach our children that they need to have responsibility and from witnessing first hand that is not what JCP&L is reflecting. How many times do you get to practice? I would be fired if I handled my job so nonchalantly. They get to it whenever..... Not OK when you are dealing with other people's life's and needs. Appreciate the sentiment Thomas but looking to keep my kids safe, warm and feed and my job from not firing me because it becomes hard to believe that Basking Ridge is always the last to get power!
Thomas Harrigan
9:18 pm on Thursday, November 1, 2012
Well MBrook, I hope that you and your kids are ok and you all find a way to stay warm. They certainly don't seem to be acting very responsibly, I'm not trying to defend them but this is likely the largest and most severe disaster that any power company has had to deal with since power has existed in Northern New Jersey. I do agree that there probably should've been better contingency plans in place, or education of township public works officials of how to test and remove trees from from power lines. Realistically a power company simply does not have the manpower to deal with multiple downed trees on virtually every street, if they did, you would probably be paying your whole salary to the power company. As far as getting warm if you don't have a fireplace, a good option could be to run your car for a few minutes to warm it up, and go inside the car when you need to get warm. You probably will only need to run the car for a few minutes every few hours, I have found that even in a relatively small car that it stays much warmer overnight if the windows are closed than it is outside. Good luck and I hope you get through this ok.
PB
9:55 pm on Thursday, November 1, 2012
My neighbor and I share a driveway and JCP&L poles are snapped and there are wires everywhere. My neighbor called JCP&L about the broken poles and lines on the ground and the guy said he "had real emergencies to deal with." ..."the town had been declares safe and secure".
The person I spoke with took detailed info including pole numbers and which ones were broken, and where the lines were on the ground. He said the information wood be "sent to the field" but don't "expect anything." We are not asking for power, we just want to be able to get out. We can't even try to cut our own way out. Isn't involuntary imprisonment illegal? Or is it something JCP&L is allowed to do?
Teeluvsaruba
10:01 pm on Thursday, November 1, 2012
Of course all of you people in Bernardsville and Bernards Twp. feel like the world should stand at your feed. Screw you. My brother in-law works for JCP&L and he's been working his ass off since before this storm hit. They were preparing for it and have been working ever since. There are lines and trees down everywhere. Just because they havent gotten to you doesn't mean they aren't working. They are in another town you know one of the many others we have here in NJ. When bad things happen we don't suddenly go OH! we better get over to Bernardsville or B Twp because they are so much more special than everyone else in the state. Did you know that they are flying in more workers from Hawaii and they already have workers here from Ohio? NO you didn't know that. You couldn't because you don't care a damn about anything because you have your head up your ass and just want to blame everyone else. Do you think anyone is happy not having heat or power? Duh! NO! These guys are doing the best they can. We haven't had something like this happen since Irene and that was a cakewalk compared to this. So quit you damn complaining, find something to do in that rich town of your like maybe get off your ass and help your neighbor and shut the hell up. They will get there when they get there. To all the JCP&L guys out there is if you read this not all of us feel this way and we do appreciate your time and effort and risking your safety for us. God bless.
esther
10:51 pm on Thursday, November 1, 2012
Teeluvsaruba
Brava!!! Brava!!! I hadn't read your post when I posted mine above. But boy oh boy are you on point. How many of you complainers shared anything this week? I did. I shared ice, water, my fire, food, and most of all companionship. Did any of you complainers knock on a neighbor's door to see if they were okay? Needed anything? How about taking your children with you and modeling appropriate behavior in a crisis? Complaining is easy. Trying to change something one person at a time is the hard part. Whimper, cry, complain or Help, assist, give. HMMMM.
Some of these JCP&L guys could use a nap, or some water, or a kind word. Like thank you for being out here. Or were they supposed to mass at the border of Jersey and Delaware and send the storm back the way it came? Or push it out to sea? No? They couldn't do that? Right so they are doing the next best thing- fixing and repairing. Thanks guys- I am learning a lot about my neighbors- quite frankly not pleased.
CraiginNJ
9:35 am on Friday, November 2, 2012
1. Why are you reading B.R. Patch news if you just came here to vent your personal bigoted untrue prejudices?
2. Venting of gripes is justified by people who have tried to brave the gauntlet of fallen power lines (still there) and have seen firsthand *no* JCP&L trucks anywhere and *no* any progress toward survival resources like even 1 gas station within 10 miles and none within 25 miles that doesn't seem likely to run out of gas by the time the guy at the back of the line gets to the pump 1 to 4 hours later. Heck, even the 202 highway is still blocked because of JCP&L power lines on the road. With the exception of some people in the Hills development (which seems more of an extension of Bedminster than Basking Ridge), there's been no visible JCP&L progress here that I've seen nor heard of.
3. The issue is not the fine linemen and field engineers (including lots from distant states), so stop imagining that the gripes about JCP&L are against the work crews. The problem is the JCP&L managers and planners who seemed to sit on their work crews even after the bad weather had passed, surveying and planning instead getting people to work ASAP when it was obvious that they should've gotten that talent to work on *any* problem *anywhere* while they were doing their planning and who didn't seem to realize until too late how urgent it is to get gas stations powered in every township (w/ portable generators if necc) with passable roads to them for gas truck deliveries.
Bunny Faber
10:31 pm on Thursday, November 1, 2012
Wow. The Patch always has the nastiest most ignorant comments. Not a very good community feeling here.
esther
10:52 pm on Thursday, November 1, 2012
Hi Bunny,
Couldn't have said it better myself.
Esther
Coffee Gal
10:47 pm on Thursday, November 1, 2012
Hi I work at the Starbucks in Kings shopping plaza on morristown road, any word of and when power will be back? I'm not from the area..
esther
11:01 pm on Thursday, November 1, 2012
Is there power in the center of Basking Ridge? Any stores or banks or restaurants or churches or street lights with power? Am avoiding driving down there after sunset.
PB
12:18 am on Friday, November 2, 2012
Always someone having to be nasty on these things... Last year I met a nice utility worker from Missouri who drove 22 hours to get here and was working 16 hour days. Then he had to drive 45 minutes back to some cheap motel and got a shamefully small meal allowance to boot. He was afraid I was going to give him a hard time. Hardly. In fact he was happy for the work because he was about to be laid off with a bunch of other line workers. Customers and not the problem, management IS the problem. Too few workers, deferred maintenance (until Irene) and too little investment in infrastructure. We lose power three time a year when a fuse blows on a near by transformer.
MBrook
1:23 am on Friday, November 2, 2012
While I'm not sure some of the comments are directed squarely at me I still felt the need to address some of them. Contrary to what you think we don't own a mansion in this 'rich town. Our 3bedrm, 1bath is typical for my neighborhood. Our past experience with JCP&L last year when we were without power for 14 days is still fresh in our minds. It took my handmade sign & a pole worker from PA w/o a work order to fix outage. A recent experience with a downed wire lead to our block not having power for over 8 hrs. Time to fix issue constantly changed and when worker in truck was asked for an ETA he laughed & bragged about collecting OT. Please don't preach about reaching out to help neighbors, BBQs and QT with our kids. Isn't this built into our DNA? I think it's pretty ignorant to think otherwise. I'm not complaining when I'm simply pointing out issues, were the politicians in SI complaining this week or were they asking help from the aftermath because they were being ignored? The some of the many issue(s) are: the promised improved communication with us as we'll as our local officials, the progress PSE&G has made versus JCP&L (including last year's storms), why wait until Weds to assess damage when storm was passed us for the most part on early Tues. Fact: many local townships have & continue to look at the option of forcing out JCP&L. The multiple investigations into JCP&L by the state & NJ Board of Utilities. I've said my peace. Hope everyone is safe, warm and healthy.
Deb
7:00 am on Friday, November 2, 2012
Hello
I'm very sick with a respiratory illness . This isn't about being nasty or snark . I just need the power to come on in Crestmont Highlands up by the golf club . My animals and I have left but can't stay here (friends house) much longer . Parsippany got their power back the same day . Cable and phone with Cablevision. This has really taken a toll . Does anyone know if the power is on yet ?
Lisa Vigna
7:48 am on Friday, November 2, 2012
JCPL is disgusting. We are trapped. Ten families that can not get out nor get emergency help if needed. I have called to JCPL area manager and left him messages. They go unanswered. We need assistsncr here
Lisa Vigna
7:50 am on Friday, November 2, 2012
We need help on Parkview. Old people trapped
CT
8:51 am on Friday, November 2, 2012
I have no issues with the workers of JCP&L, I have spoken with many of them during past storms that left us in the dark for days on end, they hate the "leaders" of JCP&L as much as I do. The executives of JCP&L have shown total incompetence in their handling of this disaster as well as storms in the past few years. PSE&G shows the right way to deal, they get power back so much faster and communicate with their customers. JCP&L (First Energy) needs to be run out of this state. We deserve better.
Nuria
9:55 am on Friday, November 2, 2012
I don't think anyone is targeting the hard workers but the the management of JCP&L obviously hasn't all wrong ... Just compare numbers with PSE&G .. Are their towns less affected? I don't think so, they are being a lot more officiant and no one is saying is because they work harder just smarter. In any case I don't understand why I cannot choose to be a customer of PSE&G I have to get stuck with JCP&L just because I'm in a different town. Posting how we feel give us a outlet, it does not mean we are not thinking about those who have it worst, only ignorant people would think that way.
xcrunner
12:23 pm on Friday, November 2, 2012
This is pathetic and embarrassing for the community by the way you guys are talking. Get off the comments and help people. Many people need help, and many people are without food or water. Instead of bickering about something that is completely out of your control, do something worthwhile and good for the community. Show to your kids what its like to get involved and being a good citizen. These comments on the other hand don't do anyone good.
none
9:10 pm on Friday, November 2, 2012
JCP&L should be kicked out of the state I agree
I never had any outage with PSE&G in 15 years with many snow storms, but had three in two years with JCP&L
popeye
9:23 pm on Friday, November 2, 2012
I know we are all frustrated, but while I also personaly live in the hills I find most of the community here very unfriendly. Even our board members where walking by assessing damage stopped near my home, I asked them how they where doing... a few more questions.. I simply got confused looks.. I felt like I was speaking another language.
However - To the ignorant above, I'm a democrat, I am not rich. I work my butt off 7 days a week to live in a small home here in the hills. You have no right to judge me and shame on you for logging in to this chat room to dish out your insults. Every single one of you are sitting in your warm homes, well, don't you know (oh, this is sarcastic) we all would have gotten hotel rooms at the 4 seasons... we would never have complained, but right now, I'm at a friends house with my two children counting our blessings since we've no family in the area. I have two young children and I am concerned about being able to purchase gas and get to work, oh and then fix my home.
My belief is anyone can achieve anything. I was a poor kid who bought a house. if there is a will there is a way, which is why I believe JCP & L sucked, they should have turned off power not let things blow up? WTF is that? Lets just wait to see what explodes then fix it... really? Way to go.. that didn't happen in NYC, they did something novel - THEY TURNED IT OFF after a few things blew up. Hang tight Hills peeps. Screw off everyone else & enjoy FOX news.
Mark
9:31 pm on Friday, November 2, 2012
Coincidence that most of the towns that are being restored are all PSE&G serviced and we are stuck with these low balling incompetent boobs at JCP&l. If this does not teach whiny spoiled Americans that the government could care less about them I don't know what will. Self reliance folks only going to get worse if the anointed one is re elected
RR
9:54 pm on Friday, November 2, 2012
Does anyone know if power has been restored to the Patriot Hills development yet?
Janice Corrado
8:36 am on Saturday, November 3, 2012
Linda, can someone please come out to Parkview, off Route 202 just before Vine restaurant and photograph scene there? It is much more dangerous than the photos accompanying your article. This huge tree, entangled in power lines, has made the road impassable and has trapped 10 families -- including those with elderly members and very young children -- in their homes with no heat and no power. It is even difficult to negotiate on foot. Any help that you and Patch can provide in calling attention to this would be deeply appreciated.
popeye
9:47 am on Saturday, November 3, 2012
Janice - Did u call someone? The police if the lame at JCP&L.
Sandra Smith
11:20 am on Saturday, November 3, 2012
Block Powerlines dangling with 3 large trees blocking parkview ave and franklin drive . Ten families with small children unable to leave. We are off route 202. Please assist.
Sandra Smith
11:22 am on Saturday, November 3, 2012
Our block Powerlines are dangling with 3 large trees blocking parkview ave and franklin drive . Ten families with small children unable to leave. We are off route 202. Please assist.
Linda Sadlouskos
11:26 am on Saturday, November 3, 2012
My latest info. is Bernardsville still 100 percent without power and could take a week to restore. Saw one van on Route 202 near Vine this morning. More to come. Is anyone helping stranded people yet? Shelter still open at Bernards High School.
EJ Weiner
9:05 am on Sunday, November 4, 2012
According to JCP&L outage page, Bedminster is @ 47% - which would be down from 100% outage as of last night. Hard to believe. I live near Pluckemin & there was no power when I left my house @ 6:45 to get gas for my car.
Alexa A.
2:26 pm on Sunday, November 4, 2012
There was a very dangerous power surge near Juniper Way and Prospect yesterday afternoon - JCP&L say there are live wires producing heat that can't be located. When my mother spoke to JCP&L this morning they told her it could be at least another 7 days until power is restored, pay your bill and go to a shelter - what kind of a response is that!? When are we going to see the help that we need before something incredibly unfortunate happens??