Heavy, wet snow knocked out power to thousands of residents in Chenango, Delaware, Otsego and Schoharie counties Thursday night into Friday morning and area electric companies are letting customers know it may take a few days to restore their power.
According to a media release, New York State Electric & Gas “expects multi-day service disruptions in its hardest hit divisions.” It has line workers in the area, “fully engaged in restoration efforts,” the release stated. Its storm response teams are working to assess the damage, make any downed wires safe, clear fallen tree debris from the roads and restore power. The company is also coordinating response efforts with state and local emergency management authorities. “Our crews will not stop working until every customer has their power restored,” the release stated.
According to NYSEG’s online outage list, as of 3 p.m. Friday there were 4,655 customers without power in Chenango County; 11,702 were without power in Delaware County, including every resident in town and village of Walton; 2,055 were without power in Otsego County and 1,494 were without power in Schoharie County.
Delaware County Electric Cooperative announced on its website that 3,145 of its customers in Delaware and Schoharie counties were without power as of 4 p.m. Friday.
DCEC posted a photo of downed trees on Facebook and said, “DCEC members, it is a real mess out there: broken poles, trees down, wires down across our entire territory — trees, poles, and wires down across roads and driveways. While we are doing our best to restore your power, this storm restoration is going to be slow. This heavy wet snow dropped over 18″ in some areas and has created a complex mess. We are gathering information from our crews in the field and will update here on progress. Please be prepared to be without power tonight and into tomorrow. We encourage members to be pro-active making sure you have gas for generators, food, and water. We are working hard to get your lights back on!”
The Otsego Electric Cooperative announced on its website that 2,078 of its customers were without power as of 4 p.m. It also posted a photo of trees on wires and said, “As of this afternoon, we are making progress but it is slow going out there. The snow has brought down many trees and caused problems across a lot of our service territory. Although our crews are and will continue to work into the night, we suggest you make provisions in case you will have no power overnight. While we understand this can be frustrating, we are working to get your service up and running as quickly as we can and we certainly appreciate your understanding.”
Assistant Emergency Services Coordinator for Otsego County Damon West said Friday afternoon there were 30 emergency calls for trees and wires down between midnight and 7 a.m. Friday. He said most of the calls were in the Oneonta and Cooperstown areas. There were also 10 reported motor vehicle accidents during that time frame.
Delaware County 911 Coordinator Mark Rossley said there were “Many accidents, trees and limbs down, some with wires. Some wires alone.” He said the calls came in from throughout the county and there was no place affected more than another in the county. Rossley said two warming stations have been set up in the county at Delaware Valley Hospital in Walton and at the Downsville Firehouse for residents without power.
According to storm reports given to the National Weather Service in Albany, areas in Schoharie County received anywhere from 3.5 inches of snow in the village of Cobleskill up to 12 inches of snow in Summit.
According to storm reports given to the National Weather Service in Binghamton, areas in Chenango County received between 4 inches, measured in Bainbridge, to 12.5 inches measured in Sherburne; reported snowfall totals varied in Otsego County from 4.5 inches in Emmons to 16 inches in Maryland; in Delaware County reported snowfall totals varied from 4 inches in Hancock to 16 inches in Walton. Several areas in Delaware County reported snowfall totals of 12 inches, including Delhi, Davenport, Franklin and Meridale.