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Community Corner

In Photos: Snow in Scotch Plains, Fanwood

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The unseasonably early snowfall Saturday left thousands without power, downed trees and power lines and made for a history-making storm.

As of 11 p.m. Saturday, 17,000 Jersey Central Power & Light customers were without power in Union County. For PSE&G customers, as many as 5,000 Scotch Plains residents were without power and up to 2,000 Fanwood residents were also in the dark.

Because of the number of damaged trees and downed power lines, the utility says it could be Wednesday before power is fully restored.

Find out what's happening in Scotch Plains-Fanwoodwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

PSE&G reminds residents that downed wires should always be considered “live.”  Residents should not approach or drive over a downed line and not touch anything that it might be in contact with. To report a downed wire and other visible equipment damage, call 1-800-436-PSEG and tell PSE&G the nearest cross street.

To report a power outage, call PSE&G’s Customer Service line: 1-800-436-PSEG.

Find out what's happening in Scotch Plains-Fanwoodwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Electric crews work to restore power to the largest numbers of customers first, taking into account “priority” customers, such as hospitals, police stations, fire stations, water and sewer facilities, communications facilities (TV, radio, and telephone), and customers on life-sustaining medical equipment, according to a news release on the company's website  At the same time, the utility restores power to homes and businesses, starting with the circuits serving the largest number of customers.

Across the state, more than 600,000 people lost power Saturday, which resulted in Gov. Chris Christie declaring a state of emergency in New Jersey.

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