CL&P and New Canaan Emergency Officials Agree: Safety First

By 8:30 p.m. Monday night, 76 percent (6,417) of New Canaan’s 8,373 homes were still without power. That’s a slight improvement from the 81 percent that were without after Irene blew through on Sunday night. But for the town's emergency management team, this isn't a numbers game. It's about safety.

Four CL&P crews showed up to work on the first day after the hurricane, and Mike Handler, New Canaan’s Director of Emergency Management said residents should prepare for another six days until power is fully restored to the town.

Michael Collins, the CL&P liaison assigned to New Canaan, is working with the OEM and to identify the areas that presented the greatest hazards to the public. 

“Our priority is life safety,” Collins told Patch. “First we take care of downed wires, live wires.”

Handler agrees, and said the keeping residents safe is the town’s highest priority. He won’t be comfortable until there’s no danger someone will come in contact with a live wire. 

According to CL&P, Irene set a record, leaving more than 671,000 customers without power. This exceeds the 477,000 customers who lost power from Hurricane Gloria in 1985. The company has 800 crews from Canada, Florida, Ohio, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, the Carolinas, Alabama, Michigan and Massachusetts working to restore power across the state.

“Within the first 24 hours following Hurricane Irene’s impact on Connecticut, CL&P has restored power to over 288,000 customers.  Even with that progress, approximately 515,300 customers remain without power as of 8:30 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 29,” CL&P said in a release Monday night.

Collins said the majority of the crews begin their shifts around 7 a.m. to take advantage of daylight. He said the remainder of the crews begin at 3 p.m. and work through the night. 

According to CL&P the damage from this storm is unprecedented, and the restoration process could take a week or longer in some areas.

On Tuesday morning, Day Two will begin.  But who's counting?