First Winter Storm Closes Schools, Brings Down Trees and Wires

STAMFORD – Scanners were busy Monday morning as first responders over a wide area were called out for trees and wires down. A couple of inches of rain that turned into heavy, wet snow overnight was more than trees and power lines could bear. It kept utility companies busy as well, with outages over a wide area. Schools were closed in Delaware, Schoharie and Greene counties. Local highway departments, prepping for the winter season for the past few weeks, were out in force.

Power was out in several areas as power crews were making their way to numerous reports of trees and wires down, electricity lines arching and transformers on fire. Calls ran the gamut and kept dispatchers busy until they began to taper off by late morning, as the falling snow also stopped.

Electric crews from contracted companies, such as Ferguson and Nelsen were working throughout the day on Monday, along with NYSEG crews, to repair lines, with public safety the first priority and restoring power the second priority. Crews were working with numerous contracted tree companies to clear areas and restore safety.

The parking lot at Tops Market in Stamford looked like a tree company convention on Tuesday night, with at least 20 trucks and crews available. The crews stayed in Oneonta overnight and were staging at Tops for a second day of work on Tuesday. They were sent to look for problem areas where trees were overhanging electric lines as they awaited assignment, in some cases with electric crews. According to one of the men from Davey Resource Group, who was coordinating operations between electric companies and tree crews. Jefferson was a priority area Tuesday morning where NYSEG and Delaware County Electric Cooperative customers remained without power, along with customers in Gilboa and other scattered areas.

A major problem area was the substation on Taylor Mountain Road, which was affecting some of the outages that continued into Tuesday. Crews need to replace several downed poles before that line could come back on line.

David Spickhall, a general foreman for Lewis Tree Service Inc., out of Rochester, was assigning the tree crews. They were going out with maps of power lines to patrol for problems. One of the challenges they were facing were areas without cell phone coverage, private roadways and areas that in some cases were not accessible.

"We are doing logistics with the electric crews if needed," said Spickhall. "Otherwise, we are just clearing the lines."

The Delaware County Sheriff's Office issued a winter weather advisory over the storm's duration and told people to be prepared for conditions by having something to aid with traction and to have extra clothing, shovels and other items with them.

The towns of Gilboa and Jefferson still had power outages on Wednesday morning. The town of Gilboa was offering a cup of coffee and a place for residents to get warm until 3pm on Tuesday at the Gilboa Town Hall.

Although snow accumulations were not that deep, the heavy, wet snow that fell on top of the rain, according to a NYSEG employee, created the problems. Fortunately, heavy winds did not accompany the storm, although there were areas of blowing and drifting snow on Tuesday night as temperatures began to plummet.

Warmer weather was predicted for later in the week, that would likely melt what snow accumulated, as area ski slopes are preparing to open for the season.

On Monday, 3,900 customers in the NYSEG’s Oneonta division were without power which includes areas of Delaware, Greene, Herkimer, Oneida, Otsego, and Schoharie Counties. The press release warned it would likely be a multiple day event and would provide restoration times as they assessed the damage.
Delaware County Electric Cooperative Customers were also affected, with outages scattered over several areas. There were 1,416 customers with 26 percent remaining out of power as of Tuesday. It included customers in Jefferson and Gilboa as well, along with Harpersfield and Kortright.

There were still 10 customers in the Jefferson listed without power Wednesday morning and only a dozen tree crews remained staged. NYSEG crews said they were getting caught up and were hopeful all problem areas were cleared. They said the heavy wet snow brought trees down and affected the lines themselves when lines came together, shorting out wires and causing major outages.

Crews were pre-staged this week in anticipation of the storm, which helped tremendously. The Company had 130 crews working to make the area safe and restore service.