FRI. UPDATE: Some Power Outages Remain, Halloween On Friday in Bville

The number of power outages continued to decline in Bernards Township and surrounding Somerset Hills communities on Friday morning, but some houses still remained without power even seven days after last Saturday's storm.

As of shortly before 11 a.m. on Friday, JCP&L reported there were 141 homes without power in Basking Ridge, 17 in Liberty Corner, 205 in Bernardsville, 59 in Bedminster, 52 in Far Hills and 26 in Peapack.

The Bernards Township website and Facebook page included a list of streets and when they should expect to receive a restoration of power.

On Friday, the township's deputy mayor, Mary Pavlini, noted her own situation. She said she had power restored to her home on Martinsville Road on Thursday night. "But the tree limbs on the wires were on fire so the police/fireman said the power company. would have to turn off again. So no Internet service yet."

On Thursday, six days after an Oct. 29 snowstorm blanketed fall leaves and cracked tree limbs, there were still reports of downed wires and some persistent pockets of power outages in Basking Ridge and surrounding towns, even as the overall numbers dropped.

As of just before 5 p.m. on Thursday, JCP&L reported 298 households without power in Basking Ridge and 28 in the Liberty Corner section of Bernards Township. The power company's map reported 448 customers without power in Bernardsville, 112 in Far Hills and 81 in Peapack.

But briefer power outages also flared up around town. The neighborhood around the William Annin Middle School reportedly lost power at about 12:30 p.m.

But Schools Superintendent Valerie Goger said that the power returned at about 2:45 p.m. Thursday. She said there was enough light and heat in the building so that students were able to remain for the duration of the school day. Afternoon activities also resumed.

On Wednesday afternoon, streets in The Hills, some which hadn't previously lost power, had electricity go out for a few hours and turn back on around dinnertime.

A comment posted on the Basking Ridge Patch on Thursday said that a wire was still down on South Alward Avenue after five days.

ADDED: Although residents should never go near downed wires, Ron Morano, a spokesman for JCP&L said at about 6 p.m. on Thursday that the power company always de-energizes downed wires "to make sure they're safe." Cones are placed around the wires to cordon them off or they are taped, he said.

"We have 580 crews working," Morano said.

Morano said JCP&L's priority for power restoration always is to bring the largest numbers of customers online first. Asked whether that means that more rural customers always will be last in line, Morano said that larger lines must be restored first because the other lines in areas such as Basking Ridge, Warren and Bernardsville feed off those lines and cannot be restored until the larger lines are repaired.

Meanwhile, in Bernardsville, Police Chief Kevin Valentine said that some borough roads remained closed on Thursday, while others were partially instructed or presented safety issues, including downed wires.

Trick or Treat still on in Bernardsville

Nevertheless, the chief said that pedestrian safety issues associated with rescheduled Halloween activities scheduled for this Friday appear to have been dealt with for the most part. "Caution is still urged as trip hazards may be present," the chief said in an update earlier on Thursday.   

Valetine said he met with borough and police officials on Thursday morning to discuss road conditions. He said the department of public works is addressing priorities with assistance from Tree Tech, which is under contract with the borough. The police department continues to monitor roads with safety issues, he said.

JCP&L and tree crews were deployed throughout Bernardsville in the morning, he said. Roads closed as of earlier on Thursday included Jockey Hollow Road, which he said had JCP& L spotters present at both ends as potentially live wires still litter the roadway. Only local residents were being allowed in and out. Two large trees still were completely blocking lower Jockey Hollow, but these can not be removed until the power lines are removed.

Other closed roads included Douglas Avenue, at Sutton and Charles; Lloyd Road at Hardscrabble Road, with Hardscrabble being passable; lower Mendham Road between Claremont and Sycamore; Conkling Street; Dryden Road between Post Lane and Turnbull; and Dayton Crescent.

Water refill stations still were operational at the Bernardsville firehouse on Mine Brook Road and the Bernardsville Library off Anderson Hill Road.

Motorists and residents disregarding barricades, moving barricades and cones were a continuing problem. "But is getting better as residents become familiar with open routes of travel and road closures," the chief said.

On Wednesday night, the borough received reports that several transformers had blown. "We had at least one wire fire issue that might have caused some new power outages in areas that were restored. I continue to communicate with JCPL command staff and our area manager several times a day. The street specific restoration times we received yesterday were not very accurate as some streets reported as having power on Nov. 1 were still without power yesterday."

However, as of Thursday, JCP&L's estimates were that Bernardsville should be fully restored by Friday night with more residents expected to power on Thursday sometime, Valentine said.