By Kevin Coughlin
Jersey Central Power & Light says full power may not be restored until Friday night in Morristown and Morris Township, the communities hardest hit by Thursday’s storm.
Morristown has opened the town seniors center (third floor, town hall at 200 South St.) and the fire station on Speedwell Avenue as cooling- and recharging stations for anyone without electricity.
Power may not be back until around 11:30 pm Friday for many customers, said Tricia Ingraham of JCP&L. Anyone who sees downed wires should do two things: Avoid them, and call the utility at 888-544-4877, the spokeswoman said.
Some 3,481 customers in Morristown and 1,600 more in the Township were in the dark Thursday as midnight approached. Harding was next, with 365 customers out, Ingraham said.
In all, 7,900 JCP&L customers statewide are affected; some 6,500 of them are in Morris County, she said.
“Talking to residents, they’ve never seen anything like this before,” said Morristown Mayor Tim Dougherty, referring to the storm cell that blasted through town in a matter of minutes around 3:30 pm.
“We clearly are seeing climate change and weather patterns changing right before out eyes,” said the Mayor, who expects to have a full damage assessment on Friday.
As the night deepened, residents in the Washington’s Headquarters Neighborhood reported an eerie combination of moonlight, flashlights and the sound of trees being chopped.
One of those residents, John Williams, was one of two citizens who hunkered down at town hall for the night.
“Morristown has a lot of great resources,” Williams said,
A few others stopped by to recharge their electronic devices, said Wayne Cresta, manager of the town seniors department. They hailed from Parsons Village, Dorado Court, Wetmore Avenue, Hill Street and Ford Avenue, he said.
Slideshow photos by Laura Amendola