PSE&G Releases Timeline of Power Restoration for Scotch Plains and Fanwood

For instant Hurricane Sandy updates, follow Scotch Plains-Fanwood Patch on Facebook and Twitter.

Update: Saturday, 7 p.m.

The Board of Education announced that a decision on opening the schools will be announced on Sunday.  With NJEA Convention being canceled, they plan to open schools on Nov. 7, 8 and 9 if power has been restored.

Update: Saturday, 5 p.m.

Note: previous message from JCP&L to Scotch Plains was sent in an error.

Fanwood

Fanwood Mayor, Colleen Mahr and Police Chief, Richard Trigo noted that PSE&G said they were "hitting our Fanwood circuits pretty hard today."

Two more small areas of Fanwood have had power restored today.

"PSE&G confirms their website has been erroneously reporting that customers’ power has been restored when it hasn’t," the message said.

The hours for warming and charging stations have been extended to 9p.m.

A decision on school has not yet been made by the Board of Education. However, voting is still set to take place at the using polling locations.

For a full look at what was said in the Mayor's message, click here.

Update: Saturday, 2:00 p.m.

Gov. Christie called on Utility Companies to release their revised plans for restoration. 

PSE&G released information for each individual town the company serves, which includes Scotch Plains and Fanwood.

Both towns were noted in the chart that they have been assigned to crews. 

The estimated time of restoration(ETR) for Scotch Plains is listed as Nov. 3 by 11:59 p.m. The ETR for the Borough of Fanwood is Nov. 5 by 11:59 p.m.

More details on the Governor's release to come.


Update: Friday, 9 p.m.

Last evening Gov. Christie announced gas rationing for multiple counties in New Jersey, including Union. The rationing states that license plates ending in odd numbers can get gas odd numbered days, while even numbered plates on even days.

License plates without any numbers are considered odd.

If your license plate ends in a letter, it would go by the last numerical digit in the plate. Here is the full article.


In a message from Mayor DePaola of Scotch Plains, she stated some residents could see restoration of power within 3-5 days, while others 7-10.


She added, "line repair must take place before individual streets can receive power."

Additionally,

• Scotch Hills Country Club is scheduled to be open as a warming center and a place to recharge cell phones, etc.

• The lobby adjacent to the Police Department in the Municipal building is also open as a charging station.

For the full update, click here.


Update: Friday, 1:30 p.m.

The borough of Fanwood announced that some power has been restored in Fanwood, although only a small area.

The Department of Public Works is doing what they can while they wait for PSE&G to remove downed wires, many of which are wrapped up in trees.

The Mayor and Police Chief state much more is to be done to restore power to the rest of Fanwood. Read the full message here.


Also, yesterday Patch visited the Fanwood Memorial Library and spoke to residents post-Sandy, as well as heard storied from other residents of SP and Fanwood. You can read more about how residents came together here. Share your story with us in the comments section!


Update: Thursday, 2 p.m.

Scotch Plains

Mayor DePaola sent out a message following Sandy for residents of Scotch Plains.

According to the mayor, the substation that serves Fanwood and Scotch Plains was badly damaged some residents will not see power for 3-4 days while others could be without power for 7-10 days.

Also, trees cannot be removed if entangled in wires until PSE&G removes the lines.

For the full update form Mayor DePaola, check here.

Fanwood

Fanwood Mayor, Colleen Mahr sent out a message to residents about post-storm updates for the Borough of Fanwood. 

The mayor stated that a substation has been brought in to assist Fanwood with restoration of power, however, this does not mean power will be restored immediately.

Additionally, the chief and mayor advise residents to stay off the streets while crews continue to work on clean-up.

Road Closures:
·         Martine Avenue remains blocked at Paterson and MacLennan Place.
·         LaGrande Avenue is blocked at 2nd Street.
·         Fanwood DPW is in the southwest quadrant again today clearing streets near Martine Avenue.

"DO NOT DRIVE OVER OR UNDER DOWNED WIRES! ALWAYS ASSUME DOWNED WIRES ARE LIVE!"

For the full update, read Mayor Mahr and Chief Trigo's message here.

Update: Wednesday, 10 a.m.

New Jersey American Water brought in generators last evening to pumping stations on elevated areas which has lost power. According to NJAM, water service should be restored.

Waiting on word whether or not Trick-or-Treating will be permitted today.

Update: Tuesday, 9 p.m.

Mayor Depaola sent out a storm update via the Scotch Plains email alert system at 9 p.m. The mayor urged residents to limit travel and stay off roads while emergency crews are working to clean up throughout the Township. Read the full update here.

ALL SP-F schools will remained closed on Wednesday, Oct 31.


Update: Tuesday, 7 p.m.

Fanwood Mayor, Colleen Mahr and Police Chief, Richard Trigo, issued an urgent public service bulletin to all borough residents. The bulletin was delivered to residents' homes and stated, "massive damage in Fanwood." You can find the full bulletin here.

Throughout Scotch Plains and Fanwood there were plenty of downed trees, Fanwood's trademark, downed power lines and even shattered street lights.

Martine Avenue at Raritan Road was blocked off, as well as Cooper Road at Terrill Road and Helen Street, if you know of other road closures please provide them in the comment section below.

SP-F Patch was without internet most of the day, so many residents stayed in touch with us via Twitter. You can find all those updates, including photos, here.

We want to know how you are doing in the aftermath of Sandy. You can comment in this article or email me at nicole.bitette@patch.com. 

Photos have already been submitted to this gallery to give residents a look at the damage. Submit your own!

I hope everyone is doing ok!


Update: Monday, 10:35 p.m.

A tree fell into home at 2nd Avenue and South Street in Fanwood.

Mayor Mahr and the Borough of Fanwood urge all residents to stay off the streets due to falling trees and possible down power lines.


Update: Monday, 10 p.m.

Hurricane Sandy has hit Scotch Plains and Fanwood, here are the updates of Power Outages in the towns.

Check the PSE&G outage map to keep informed and to report outages.

Outages:

• Scotch Plains - 5,001-10,000
• Fanwood - 501-2,000

Original Story

As Hurricane Sandy threatens to hit New Jersey early this week, Fanwood and Scotch Plains have declared they are prepared for what may be to come.

All public schools in Scotch Plains-Fanwood announced closings for Monday, Oct. 29, as well as Union Catholic and Union County Vocational Technical Schools.

SP-F Public Schools and Union Catholic HS will remained closed on Oct. 30.


Fanwood

According to Clint Dicksen of the Borough of Fanwood's Department of Public Works, he met this morning with Police Chief Richard Trigo, the acting Borough Clerk of Fanwood, Tom Kranz of the Fanwood Rescue Squad and a member of Fanwood's CERT team to discuss Sandy.

From an operational standpoint, Dicksen said the borough is fully prepared. Fanwood went over all of its emergency equipment to make sure it was working properly, which it was, he said.

He added that all vehicles are ready to go including trucks with tree equipment.


Additionally, the Fanwood Police Department will be setting up shelters, if it is to come to that point.

On Fanwood's website, a large "Weather Advisory" banner  is present and all weather updates can be found on the site, as well as via email and TV-35.

The site urges anyone who is not signed up for emergency alerts to do so.

Mayor Colleen Mahr also provided a message on the Borough's Website, assuring citizens that she is working closely with all departments to make plans to keep the town safe. 

She closed the message by saying, "I would ask all our citizens to remain calm, stay informed and help your neighbors, especially the very old and the very young. We'll get through this together."

Mayor Mahr signed an emergency declaration, declaring Fanwood a state of emergency. Along with Police Chief, Richard Trigo, the two advise residents to stay off the roads.

If needed, the Emergency Office of Management will provide shelters.  If you need shelter, call Fanwood Police at 908-322-5000.

Read more of what Mayor Mahr had to say here.


Scotch Plains

Paul Malool, Office of Emergency Management Coordinator, said that Scotch Plains is also fully prepared, stating that the Police, Fire and Road Departments have all prepped their equipment for any possible deployment.

Mayor Mary DePaola sent out a message urging residents to use extreme caution during the storm. 

The message from the township provided the following to-do list before the storm:

-                  Check your flashlights and have extra batteries.

-                  Keep your cell phone fully charged.

-                  Keep a supply of water and non–perishable food.

-                  Have a list of emergency numbers ready.

-                  One week supply of your medications.

Additionally, more information could be found on Scotch Plains' website, www.scotchplainsnj.com  or the State OEM web site at www.ready.nj.gov.

"If evacuations should become necessary, SPPD will activate the instant alert system as well as make an announcement on SP-TV and on the Township Website," the message stated.

DePaola ended the message by saying, "As always, thank you for your time and assistance.  Stay safe!" 

 You can read more of DePaola's message here.

How has Hurricane Sandy hit you guys? Tell us in the comments section below!

Upload photos of Sandy's aftermath in SPF to this article or the community gallery. 

Keep up with scotchplains.patch.com as we find out more. Join the Sandy conversation on our Facebook page or on our Twitter page!