8 Percent of Trumbull Powerless; Showers, Services Available [Update]

Update 9:45 a.m. (Saturday)

UI says 1,059 customers in Trumbull—about 8 percent of its base in town—remains without power.

These updates also are available on the Trumbull municipal website:

• The majority of UI's make-safe efforts have been completed.  Crews will be working through the weekend to restore power as quickly as possible.
• The at 20 Trefoil Drive has generously offered to open the use of their showers to Trumbull and Monroe residents.  The showers will be available Saturday, September 3, 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM, Sunday, September 4, 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM, and Monday, September 5, 6:00 AM to noon.  Please bring your own toiletries, towels and photo ID.
• Trumbull's sewage pump stations are working.
• The transfer station will extend hours and be open 7:00 AM - 3:00 PM on Saturday, September 3, 2011.
• The (Main Library on Quality St.) is closed until further notice due to a power outage.
• The branch library has reopened...but has NO INTERNET and no online catalog. Staff will check out library materials manually.
• The pool at and the sprinkler lot at Indian Ledge Park are open.  All other Town of Trumbull Park Facilities are closed.  Residents who attempt to access these facilities do so at their own risk.
• Please check the Trumbull Public School website, www.trumbullps.org, for information regarding the opening of school.
• There are still some electrical wires down around town.  DO NOT GO NEAR THESE LINES.  Report downed lines and powered outages to the United Illuminating Company at 1-800-722-5584.  You can also call this number for power restoration time estimates (if available). 

Meeting agenda for the Trumbull Board of Ed's Tuesday meeting is available.

Update 1:30 p.m. (Friday)

As the outage number falls to 1,579 customers, or about 11 percent, the United Illuminating Co. announced Friday it will issue relief grants to its service area in Connecticut. Trumbull gets $2,500.

“Hurricane Irene has left an unfortunate and lingering legacy across the Northeast,” James P. Torgerson, chief executive officer of UIL Holdings Corporation, said in a press release. “Even as we intensify our ongoing effort to restore electric service to all of our customers, we have an opportunity now to help provide relief to those customers who have been enduring a variety of hardships since the storm struck.”

The rest of the grants, paid by UIL shareholders, will be distributed as follows:

• $5,000 each for Bridgeport and New Haven, the largest communities in UI’s service territory;
• $2,500 for each of the remaining 15 communities UI serves; and
• $2,500 for the Connecticut Red Cross.

The grant program gives local officials input into how the funds should be distributed, the release states.

Meanwhile, according to the town website:

• As of 8 p.m. Sept. 2, the state of emergency, declared at noon a week ago on Aug. 26, will end.
• Trumbull's Emergency Operations Center will close on Sept. 2 at 8 p.m.
• The showers at Hillcrest Middle School will close at 8 p.m. on Sept. 2.  The at 20 Trefoil Drive has offered to open the use of their showers to Trumbull and Monroe residents. The showers will be available Sept. 2 until 9 p.m.; Sept. 3., 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.; Sept. 4, 9 a.m. - 3 p.m., and S Sept. 5, 6 a.m. - 12 p.m. Please bring your own toiletries, towels and photo ID.
• The Trumbull Library remains closed, but the Fairchild Nichols Branch is open without Internet or online catalogue.
• The pool at and the sprinkler lot at k are open.  All other Town of Trumbull Park Facilities are closed.  Residents who attempt to access these facilities do so at their own risk.

Update 11 a.m. (Thursday)

Trumbull's outage is at 2,033, or 15 percent. 

According to State Sen. Anthony Musto, D-Trumbull:

Just off conference call with UI. They are anticipate a 98 percent restoration rate over the weekend in their entire service area. They “will be working 24 hours per day until this is done” regardless of the Labor Day weekend. There are 260 crews in the field, but some are still working on trees before they can repair lines. More are coming to the state from the Midwest. Only 5 crews working in Trumbull and 9 in Bridgeport this morning, but they are down to 7 percent out of power in Bridgeport and 15 percent out of power in Trumbull currently.

I know this is frustrating. If you have specific questions about specific issues please feel free to call my office at 860-240-0498 and we’ll try to get specific answers. If you are aware of a neighbor who may be incapacitated in some way and in need of electricity please let us know so we can get that information to the power companies.

UI’s website is http://www.uinet.com/storm/ and has much of the same information if you want to follow along yourself.

Also, all residents and businesses who have property damage from the hurricane should report it to the state’s free infoline, 2-1-1, or online at wwww.211ct.org, as the data is needed for the FEMA application, which they want to expedite. You should also be in contact with the First Selectman's office as the chief executive should be aggregating these issues. It’s important to get this done ASAP.

Also, check out the town website.

Update 2:17 p.m.

As of 1 p.m., the outage in Trumbull stands at 3,165.

Also, First Selectman Tim Herbst has issued the following statement:

"Due to the devastation at Indian Ledge Park caused by Hurricane Irene, we unfortunately have to cancel this year’s concert. The nature of the damage to the park is such that it will not be prepared for the event scheduled on Sept. 10, 2011. Thousands of households are without power. The United Illuminating Company has not given us a definite date as to the repair in the park. With roads still obstructed and the opening of school being delayed by almost 10 days, Indian Ledge Park is low on their priority list. We apologize for any inconvenience caused by this act of God. We hopefully will be able to continue our concert series next year.

All ticketholders will be refunded in full, including any transaction fees charged.

Please present your tickets and picture identification to the Recreation Department starting Tuesday, Sept. 12 through Oct. 31.  The Recreation Department is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and can be reached at 203-452-5003.

If you paid by check, a check payable to the individual that purchased the tickets will be available once the tickets and picture identification are presented.

If you paid cash, a form will be filled out at the time the tickets are presented and a check will be issued from the Finance Department within 15 days.

If you paid by credit card, a credit will be applied to your account, including the charged transaction fee."

Additionally, starts Sept. 6 and  states the following:

"The First Day of School will be delayed until after Labor Day, due to the work on Huntington Turnpike and the Town of Trumbull's new sewer lines.

Freshmen will report on Wednesday the 7th of September. Sophomores and Freshmen will report on Thursday the 8th.The entire school body will convene on Friday the 9th.

Please be alert to the current changes to the traffic flow on campus, as the entrances and exits are temporarily affected by the electrical and sewer projects. Signs and traffic cones mark the traffic pattern and all access to the building is through the rear."

Update 12 p.m.

There are 3,745 Trumbull UI customers still without power.

According to the Trumbull town website, the (Main and Fairchild Nichols branch) is closed until further notice due to a power outage.

As of Aug. 31, all park facilities are closed except for Beach Memorial Pool. Residents who attempt to access these facilities do so at their own risk. 

on Daniels Farm Road will be open from 8 a.m. to  p.m., for town residents who are without power/water and who wish to use the showers. Please bring your own toiletries, towels and photo ID. This is for Trumbull residents only.

Update 8 a.m. (Wednesday)

The power outage is at 4,247.

Update 7:15 p.m.

The Sept. 10 Indian Ledge concert, featuring Gin Blossoms, Lifehouse and Sugar Ray, is canceled because storm damage to roadways and the park, First Selectman Tim Herbst said Tuesday evening.

"There's no way to clean up in time. We're basically back to square one," Herbst said.

"There's no way. We don't have the manpower to get that done," he added.

All ticketholders will have their tickets refunded and the town has spent a "minimal" amount of money on advertising, Herbst added. The contract for the show provided for natural disasters.

The three bands may not perform in Trumbull later because they are on tour, according to Herbst.

Meanwhile, the Trumbull High School Marching band has suspended its door-to-door campaign.

Update 5:15 p.m.

Power outage is at 6,027. And the Library is closed, according to Director Sue Horton.

Update 12:30 p.m.

About 6,000 Trumbull UI customers are still out of power. UI has issued the following release:

As of 11 a.m. Tuesday, the company had 82,985 customers who were without power. To date UI has restored 52 percent of the customers who were left without power as a result of Hurricane Irene.  

“The strategic placements of tree trimming and line construction crews have allowed us to make significant progress in restoring power to all customers,” said Anthony J. Vallillo, UIL’s executive vice president and chief operating officer. “Without that strategy, it would have delayed our ability to put more customers back in service.”

“We certainly understand that customers immediately want estimated restoration times and can become frustrated when they are not provided,” added Vallillo. “It was important to actually complete an assessment of the damage first and to give realistic timeframes. To provide times that were not based on known conditions, wasn’t the best course of action in our judgment.”

Hurricane Irene left a distinct mark on the UI service territory. Crews that performed an initial assessment of the 3,000-mile distribution system and 140,000 poles identified approximately 1,500 to 2,000 trees in need of clearing, 450 sections of electric wire that needed to be replaced and a minimum of 103 poles in disrepair.

UI service territory covers 335 square miles and damage was essentially identified across that entire service territory. The company expects to find even more damage to poles, trees, wires and equipment as it works through the full restoration process. 

“It’s barely been 48 hours and we knew the magnitude of damage was significant, but the numbers here are astonishing,” said James P. Torgerson, CEO of UIL Holdings. “I want to personally thank all of the electric and natural gas employees who have assisted in this effort. Virtually all UIL employees are involved in some aspect of restoration.” 

The company now has crews from Florida, Missouri, North Carolina, Wisconsin and Indiana. Current crew’s statistics are listed below:     

208 crews:  

• 88 overhead line crews;
• 59 tree-clearance crews;
• 29 patrol crews; and
• 32 service crews.

While there continue to be downed trees and other challenges to overcome, Tuesday will bring momentum in restoring customers. Now that much of the assessment is complete, crews know which circuits to target.

On Wednesday, the company expects to provide more information on estimated restoration times.

Meanwhile, State Sen. Anthony Musto, D-Trumbull, has said Gov. Dannel Malloy "stressed that if anyone has damage to their property that they should contact their First Selectmen / Mayors so that the municipalities can submit claims to FEMA if appropriate. The executives should aggregate these claims and coordinate with the Governor's office.

"Please note that this is not for personal reimbursement for damage but rather to cover the costs of repairs and assistance paid by the state and local governments. For personal claims you should continue to keep in touch with your insurance companies," Musto said.

Update 9 a.m.

About 6,000 Trumbull UI customers remain out of power, but is open for business. No one is answering the phone at the .

The school district is expected to issue an update soon on the state of the five schools without power.

The Finance Committee of the Town Council meets tonight in Town Hall and the Legislation and Administration Committee on Wednesday night, both at 7 p.m.

Update 6 a.m. (Tuesday)

According to UI, 6,054 Trumbull homes still are without power—about 44 percent of the utility's customer base in town.

Update, 5 p.m.

There were no injuries reported from Hurricane Irene, but one house on Saxony Drive is uninhabitable after a tree fell on it early Sunday, according the to the Trumbull Fire Marshal's Office, speaking at a press conference in , also the Emergency Operations Center.

Also attending were First Selectman Tim Herbst, Tree Warden Warren Jacques, Police Chief Tom Kiely, Fire Marshal Meghan Murphy, Deputy Fire Marshal Alex Rauso and several other police officials.

Added Rauso, "Six homes suffered moderate damage" from falling tree limbs.

About 12 people stayed in , a designated shelter, during the storm, said Murphy.

Also, numerous main roads such as Frenchtown, Teller and Porters Hill roads, are blocked by down wires, Herbst said.

The storm affected 400-500 roadside trees, out of 40,000 roadside trees, Jacques noted. Two large trees that fell across Madison Avenue and Daniels Farm Road were quickly cleared, he said.

"We are in make-safe mode right now," clearing the roads to allow for power to be restored, Herbst said.

But he called on UI to put more crews in Trumbull because the number of customers without power remained steady at about 8,000 today. The peak loss was about 10,330 customers of the town's 13,836, or about 75 percent.

"This isn't the first time we've had issues," Herbst said.

UI has said it's brought in crews from outside of Connecticut to help with full restoration, which could take until Friday. Anyone with concerns should call UI at 1-800-722-5584(1-800-7CALLUI).

But motorists are also causing problems, noted Police Chief Kiely. He urged drivers to mind the police caution tape marking hazardous areas. There might be wires that have fallen and are invisible from a distance, Kiely said.

Meanwhile, will be open Tuesday, Aug. 30, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., for Trumbull residents who lack water to take showers. Proof of residency is required, and residents must bring their own toiletries and towels, Herbst said.

Update, 2:45 p.m.

UI has announced that 8,085 Trumbull customers are out, but restoration is being "accelerated."

The company issued the following release:

“We expect today to complete the physical inspection of our electrical system and make significant inroads toward customer restoration,” said James P. Torgerson, CEO of UIL Holdings. “We understand that the loss of electricity is a serious disruption to people’s lives, and we have marshaled every resource at our disposal to restore power safely to all of our customers. We appreciate your patience as we proceed with this enormous task in a safe and responsible manner.”

 As of 2 p.m. Monday, 105,166 UI customers remained without power, down from a peak total of more than 158,000 on Sunday afternoon — nearly half of all UI customers. The company expected to restore approximately 25,000 customers during the course of the day — which would bring total outages to approximately half of the peak level.

Restoration crews worked overnight Sunday. On Monday, approximately 200 crews were responding to nearly 4,000 separate reported incidents in every one of the 17 municipalities that UI serves. These restoration teams include UI crews, contractors and mutual assistance crews from as far away as Florida, North Carolina and Kansas.

Crew Breakdown

• 70 line crews
• 60 tree-clearance crews
• 25 patrol crews
• 30 service crews
• 15 substation crews 

“This was an enormously damaging storm impacting the majority of our entire system,” said Anthony J. Vallillo, UIL’s executive vice president and chief operating officer. “We are making every effort to restore customers as soon as possible and we will do our best to keep our customers informed as we work toward full restoration.”  

Vallillo said as of Monday morning, there were a total of 40 circuits out, and the company expects to restore half of those during the course of the day.

Although UI has made addressing public safety hazards its top priority, company officials urged the public to assume that downed power lines or other electrical equipment are still live and potentially dangerous. Stay far away and report the location and details to UI by calling 1-800-7-CALL-UI (1-800-722-5584).

Customers of UIL Holdings’ gas utilities should report any gas odor or suspected leak to the numbers below:

• Berkshire Gas Company: 800-292-5012
• Connecticut Natural Gas Corporation: 866-924-5325
• Southern Connecticut Gas Company: 800-513-8898

Customers who need other sorts of assistance should dial 211 to reach the state’s Infoline, which can put them in touch with a variety of local services. Or, they can contact the American Red Cross.

Original story:

Chainsaws and generators buzzed all over town today, as residents chopped up the mess left by Hurricane Irene.

But the big buzz was the school district's delayed opening was announced Monday afternoon. Schools Supt. Ralph Iassogna cited power outages and downed trees and debris in the roads. School, which is closed today as well, had been scheduled to start Aug. 30.

Power may not be fully restored until Friday, Sept. 2, Iassogna said.

"This dilemma not only poses many life safety issues but also has created transportation problems related to access to several of our schools for both buses/staff and parent drivers," the superintendent said.

School offices will be open Aug. 31 with teacher development days Aug. 31 and Sept. 1. Sept. 6 and 7 will be full school days, Iassogna said.

"I realize this marked change in schedules will pose an inconvenience for many, but in light of the data received by the Trumbull Emergency Management Team, it was necessary and can only ensure the safety of our students, staff and community," Iassogna said.

Meanwhile, Irene, in addition knocking power out to 75 percent of Trumbull's United Illuminating customers at the peak, took down limbs and entire trees and led to last minute shopping sprees on eggs, bread, milk, water, canned goods.

Shelves at Target and Stop & Shop Supermarket were stripped of the basic staples. And on Monday morning, generators didn't sit long at the Home Depot on Monroe Turnpike, which opened earlier this year. 

was closed Monday, and one employee noted on Facebook that he or she had been waiting the parking lot since 9 a.m. The mall was still closed about 1:30 p.m. 

The and are also closed today.

First Selectman Tim Herbst has called a press conference for 3 p.m. More details will follow after that.

Governor Dannel P. Malloy will brief residents and members of the media today at 5 p.m. at the State Emergency Operations Center in Hartford following his conference call with municipalities.