LIPA Finishes Irene Restoration as New Rain Brings More Outages

More than 3,000 lose power with new rain.

The Long Island Power Authority wrapped up its major hurricane restoration job over the weekend and began a fresh new work week dealing with more power outages. The last of the 523,000 customers who lost power because of hurricane Irene had their juice turned back on sometime Monday, according to LIPA spokesman Mark Gross. But heavy rains moved into the area causing new outages. "Whenever a storm like this comes through with gusty winds and rain, you have outages," Gross said.   He added that the already saturated ground is causing more trees to topple onto wires. As of 2 p.m. Tuesday, LIPA was showing about 370 outages affecting more than 3,000 customers. The utility spokesman said the outages were scattered throughout Long Island, and …

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paul

5:22 pm on Wednesday, September 7, 2011

It is not necessaily the poles snapping, they get knocked over and removed from the ground. The poles are several feet deep.   more ›

LIPA: Most Outages Fixed by Friday

LIPA's Michael Hervey: Nearly 400,000 still without electricity on Long Island.

The Long Island Power Authority says it expects 95 percent of customers to have power restored by the end of the week, as nearly 400,000 remained in the dark on Monday. "Based on initial estimates, we expect that most of the large area outages will have power restored by Friday with some lingering localized small outages going into the weekend or early next week," LIPA Chief Operating Officer Michael Hervey said at a press briefing in Hicksville. The utility revised the total number of those who lost power as a result of Hurricane Irene upward to 523,000 customers and said about 24 percent -- or 125,000 -- have their power back. That leaves about 398,000 irked customers without power as of Monday morning, and Hervey hopes most of them will…

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Many Nassau Residents Without Power

Outages were caused by down trees, LIPA says.

More than 145,000 Nassau County residents are without power after Hurricane Irene hit, according to the Long Island Power Authority. The outages were caused by trees bringing down power lines, poles and transformers, according to a LIPA spokesperson. As of 9 a.m., 145,650 out of 473,006 people are in the dark in Nassau due to the storm, LIPA’s Storm Center Map says. These outage are listed as in the "assessing condition" phase. There is no estimated time of restoration as of yet. In one of the worst hit areas, Levittown, about a third of households, or 6,124, are without power. Some 4,220 out of 6,910 households in North Bellmore are in the dark, while 3,986 out of 6,671 LIPA customers are without power in Wantagh. In Garden City, some 2,…

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Extreme Heat to Blame for Local Power Outages

About 85 homes are without power in the area.

The Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) has reported that more than 85 Merrick residents are currently without power. According to Vanessa Baird-Streeter of LIPA, the power outages were most likely caused by usage because of the extreme heat. "We are going to see scattered heat-related power outages in the area, mostly due to blown fuses and blown transformers," she said. Baird-Streeter said that LIPA is working to get all customers up-and-running as soon as possible. All of the outages are north of Sunrise Highway.

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Merrick...Through the Lens

Merrick Gets Nailed With 14.2 Inches of Snow

A third major winter storm buries the town.

In a third major winter storm, Merrick was hit with 14.2 inches of snow, with five of those inches falling in the span of one hour. Children rejoiced at the news of schools closings, but there were also power outages in the area, poorly plowed roads and the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) ran on a delayed schedule. The heavy, wet snow made it hard to clear the sidewalks, but little by little, Merrick is emerging. Here are some pictures that show what this snow day brought to the citizens of the town. If you have shots of your own, please e-mail them to Emily.Cappiello@patch.com and we will add them.

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Merrick Residents Cry Foul on Storm Response

Merokeans not pleased with system failures, lack of communication; power almost fully restored around town.

As utility crews work to restore power to a few hundred Merokeans still in the dark, a couple of residents on one of the hardest hit streets in town spoke of their frustrations with the response to Saturday's storm.   "If we get hit with a hurricane, we will make Katrina look like a picnic," said Lisa Pitti, who lives on the corner of Thomas Street and Dekalb Avenue in North Merrick. Pitti was on her front porch Saturday afternoon waiting for her father when she "heard a howl like a freight train." A tree at the front of her property came crashing down to the road, ripping down utility lines onto the top of a car and then landing through a fence on the other side of the road.   "My father was driving down the block as it happened," said …

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Merokeans Wait in Dark as Power Outages Slowly Being Restored

Nearly 1,500 Merokeans are anxiously awaiting the return of power after four days in the dark; utility crews around town today repairing fallen wires and poles.

Mike Schaefer wants his "creature comforts" back. Schaefer is one of nearly 1,500 Merrick residents who are still waiting for their power to be restored.   "I've had it," said Schaefer, who lives on Hewlett Avenue, where utility crews called in from Tennessee were working this afternoon to repair fallen poles and wires in the area.  "I need my TV, my computer, my warmth."    Schaefer's wife, Karin, said she saw a "big blue flash" Saturday afternoon from inside their home on the corner of Woodbine Avenue and then looked outside to see a utility pole snapped in half. The Schaefers have moved all of their perishable food to a friend's home and have been using extra blankets to deal with the lack of heat.   "The kids are going nuts with not …

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