UI: Fairfield Power at 100 Percent [UPDATE]

Update, 10:45 p.m.

The UI reported at 10:40 p.m. that 100 percent of Fairfield households have power.

Update, Nov. 2, 9:07 a.m.

The UI reported at 8:55 a.m. that four households remain powerless in Fairfield.

Update, 4:15 p.m.

The UI may not have reached its goal of restoring power to all of Fairfield by last evening, but it seems that tonight could be the night.  

The company reported at 4:10 p.m. that 37 customers remained powerless in Fairfield, or 0.17 percent of the town.

Update, 1:30 p.m.

They're getting there...

The UI reported at 1:25 p.m. that 117 Fairfield households remain without power, or 0.53 percent of the town.

That's 95 more customers with power since shortly after 9 this morning.

Update, Nov. 1, 9:15 a.m.

UI reported at 9:10 a.m. that 212 Fairfield customers remain without power. That's 0.96 percent of households in town. 

As far as Fairfield cleanup is going, Ken Placko, Fairfield's tree warden, said "a couple of dozen whole trees"  came down, and the trees that split during the storm and are in the process of being pruned or completely removed number in the hundreds.

Patch is working on getting in touch with the Department of Public Works to get an update on their end.

Update, 10 p.m.

UI reported at 9:55 p.m. that 296 Fairfield customers -- 1.33 percent of the town -- are without  power.

Update, 6 p.m.

Superintendent of Schools Dr. David Title said that public schools will open on schedule tomorrow; the announcement is posted on Fairfield Public Schools website homepage.

Title said in email at 4 p.m. that he was waiting on the OK from the Department of Public Works "on getting the last few roads cleared that had downed wires and trees that blocked our transportation system this morning."

Since then, the announcement that schools will indeed be open tomorrow was confirmed on the school system's website.

In other news, UI reported at 5:55 p.m. that 420 Fairfield customers -- 1.89 percent of the town -- are without power.

Update, 3:55 p.m.

While UI crews attempt to restore power to the town, the number of outages continues to fluctuate. The company reported at 3:40 p.m. that 601 households, or 2.71 percent of the town, are still out.

No word on whether the UI will reach its original deadline to restore power to all customers by the end of today. Stay tuned.

Update 10/31, 12:24 p.m.

According to the UI's most current outage table (updated at 12:10 p.m.), 529 Fairfield households are still without power, approximately 2.38 percent of the town.

Update 9:35 p.m.

According to a Tweet from RTM District 1 delegate Michael Herley, the following information was emailed through Fairfield Public Schools: "For Monday, October 31, 2011 all public and parochial schools in the Town of Fairfield will be closed."

The Twitter account for Eagle Hill Southport, an independent school, posted that the school currently plans to be open Monday.

As of 9:25 p.m., UI's latest report says 2,055 Fairfield customers, about 9 percent of the utility's total customer base in town, are without power.

Update 3:30 p.m.

Planet Fitness is offering use of its shower and locker room facilities to residents who need them in the wake of the historic snowstorm. A complete list of the company's gyms in Connecticut can be found here.

Locations in Fairfield County include:

• Shelton (two locations, and )
• Stamford ( and )

Update 1 p.m.

Gov. Dannel Malloy said through his Twitter feed that he’s asked President Obama to declare a federal emergency in Connecticut.

Currently, more than 820,000 utility customers in the state are without power, including more than 800,000 from Connecticut Light & Power. CL&P has no new updates since Tweeting four hours ago that outages could last one week.

The CEO of United Illuminating—whose Fairfield County towns include Easton, Fairfield, Shelton and Trumbull—said customers should have power restored Monday.

Stay on your local Patch for school closing and delay information as it becomes available, and be sure to create a user account to post comments on this article or upload your photos and videos by clicking the “Submit Your Photos” button.

Here’s a snapshot of outages in our towns at 1 p.m.:

Town

% Customers

Saturday

Sunday

3 p.m.

4 p.m.

5 p.m.

6 p.m.

7 p.m.

12 a.m.

9 a.m.

1 p.m.

Darien

10

26

41

47

37

27

26

26

Easton

0

16

20

22

38

29

42

46

Fairfield

2

3

4

4

4

5

14

14

Greenwich

5

12

13

14

15

18

18

17

New Canaan

8

22

24

38

39

42

42

43

Norwalk

15

17

17

18

18

20

22

19

Redding

1

9

13

96

80

100

100

100

Ridgefield

4

8

9

15

18

67

100

100

Shelton

12

19

25

28

23

18

11

8

Stamford

3

4

8

8

15

8

17

8

Trumbull

0

1

5

5

6

18

25

11

Weston

10

58

68

75

75

61

80

80

Westport

14

28

31

32

34

19

21

22

Wilton

10

37

50

56

56

55

68

66

Update 9:45 a.m. Sunday

In what Gov. Dannel Malloy has called the largest number of outages in Connecticut history at a single time—some 790,000 statewide—Fairfield saw the percentage of UI customers in town nearly triple overnight, from about 5 to 14 percent.

See the full outage table below.

The Merritt and Wilbur Cross Parways are to reopen at 11 a.m. today, Malloy said through his Twitter feed.

United Illuminating on its Twitter feed said: "Crews worked through the night and fresh crews have begun very early this am. Trees continue to be the leading culprit."

Here’s how United Illuminating prioritizes restoration efforts, according to the utility’s website:

First Priority:

• Public safety requires the de-energizing or cutting down of downed line, primary voltage distribution lines.
• Restoration of service to previously designated public emergency service institutions such as major hospitals, evacuation centers, as prioritized by municipal officials.

Second Priority

• Service restoration to a maximum number of customers in a minimum amount of time using available work forces. This usually involves the removal of trees and limbs, the bypassing of some damaged equipment and the re-energizing of primary voltage distribution lines.

Third Priority

• The repair and restoration of equipment and lines serving small groups of customers.

Fourth Priority

• Although the restoration of service lines to individual homes or buildings is designated as Priority 4, they will in most cases be done at the same time as other restoration work designated with a higher priority. This is accomplished by using crews not normally associated with distribution restoration work.

Metro-North Railroad says service has been restored on the New Haven line, though rail commuters in towns such as Redding need to make alternative plans:

• Hudson Line, New Haven Line & New Canaan Branch: Regular train service has been restored.
• Harlem Line: Upper Harlem Line service remains suspended from North White Plains to Wassaic due to downed trees. Regular train service has been restored from North White Plains to Grand Central.
• Danbury & Waterbury Branches: Bus service is in effect on both branches. Train service remains suspended due to downed trees at several locations and local power outages. On the Danbury Branch buses will bypass Redding Station. Redding customers should use Branchville or Bethel Stations

Stay on Patch for updates.

Update 12 a.m. Sunday

Powerless homes in Fairfield held steady at just 5 percent of United Illuminating customers, even as , which is forecasted to continue through Sunday morning.

According to a 9:46 p.m. Saturday update from the National Weather Service, the historic October snowstorm is expected to wind down by about 6 a.m. Sunday, leaving accumulations of six inches to a foot.

“Widespread tree damage and power outages will continue,” according to the NWS. “Travel will continue to be hazardous.”

As Saturday becomes Sunday, MTA is reporting:

• New Haven Line: Trains are operating with delays of  60-90 minutes due to weather-related signal problems.
• New Canaan & Danbury Branches: Service remains suspended due to downed trees at several locations and slippery rail conditions

Below, you’ll find an outage map that tracks outages, as a percentage of the utility (Connecticut Light & Power or United Illuminating) in the given town.

Town

% Customers

3 p.m.

4 p.m.

5 p.m.

6 p.m.

7 p.m.

12 a.m.

Darien

10

26

41

47

37

27

Easton

0

16

20

22

38

29

Fairfield

2

3

4

4

4

5

Greenwich

5

12

13

14

15

18

New Canaan

8

22

24

38

39

42

Norwalk

15

17

17

18

18

20

Redding

1

9

13

96

80

100

Ridgefield

4

8

9

15

18

67

Shelton

12

19

25

28

23

18

Stamford

3

4

8

8

15

8

Trumbull

0

1

5

5

6

18

Weston

10

58

68

75

75

61

Westport

14

28

31

32

34

19

Wilton

10

37

50

56

56

55

Patch will have more details as they emerge Sunday.

Update 5 p.m.

See updated outage table below. MTA reports delays on the New Haven line with service on the New Canaan and Danbury branches suspended.

Update 4 p.m.

UI is now reporting about 3 percent of Fairfield without power, still far less than other parts of the county (see table below).

Original Story

Downed trees and branches are causing road hazards, accidents and sporadic power outages throughout Fairfield County Saturday.

A winter storm warning and coastal flood advisory is in effect through much of the region as a slushy storm that coincides with relatively high winds and tides arrived even more quickly than forecasters had predicted. The National Weather Service now is calling for as much as 8 to 12 inches of snow as temperatures drop into the 30s.

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Drawing from the Connecticut Light & Power and United Illuminating websites, here’s a snapshot of outage reports throughout our towns on Saturday:



Metro-North has . At this time the rail service reporting “Good Service” on the New Haven line and New Canaan  and Danbury branches.

CL&P has issued .

Editor's Note: This story was originally published on Oct. 29.