Date: Fri 04-Apr-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: KAAREN

Quick Words:

weather-snow-storm-Adams

Full Text:

w/photos : Snowstorm Batters Trees And Power Lines

B Y K AAREN V ALENTA

When seven inches of snow fell on April 7 last year, no one was surprised. It

was just one more storm in a winter that brought more than 120 inches to the

region.

But this year residents were lulled by the almost snowless winter, an early

spring and a beautiful 64-degree Easter Sunday. When winter finally showed up

Monday night, dumping 8 to 10 inches of snow across Newtown, it was as if

Mother Nature was playing an April Fool's joke.

The storm left nearly 97,000 Connecticut Light & Power (CL&P) customers in the

dark, most of them in the central part of the state, according to CL&P

spokesperson Margo Jackson-Douglas. Newtown was among the hardest hit

communities in Fairfield County with 1,871 customers out on Monday evening.

Many of those were plunged into darkness when a tree fell across South Main

Street near Mile Hill Road about 8 pm Monday. At that time, Milton Adams, of

the highway department, was driving a town pickup truck on South Main Street,

heading toward Pepperidge Lane where another tree was reported to have fallen.

"The wind suddenly blew up a big puff of snow and I couldn't see anything," Mr

Adams said. "When I was able to see again, I saw a huge pine tree coming down

right in front of me. I knew I couldn't stop in time."

Mr Adams said he slammed on the truck's brakes and turned the steering wheel

hard to try to turn the truck before the impact, at the same time throwing his

body down across the seat.

"It looked like a mountain coming down on me. There was a horrendous crash.

The tree dented the truck, broke the windshield and bent up the windshield

washers and antennas."

Almost instantaneously there was a tremendous flash of light.

"I had my eyes closed, but it was so bright it was like I had no eyelids at

all," Mr Adams said. "Seconds later there was another huge flash. I was still

lying on the seat, but I knew I had to get out of there."

The falling tree had torn down power lines which were now lying across the

hood of the truck.

"I assumed these were the 13,800-volt feeder lines from the substation a half

mile down the road," Mr Adams said. "The flashes of light were seen by drivers

on Mt Pleasant Road and Route 34 and at the highway garage. Imagine that light

coming from about two feet in front of my face. My life flashed before my

eyes, I was so terrified."

Still lying across the seat, he threw the truck into reverse and slammed on

the gas pedal. The truck shook and vibrated and finally backed out from

beneath the tree. He then spotted a woman who ran out of the small house

across the street where the top of the tree had landed.

"She yelled that she called 911 because there was someone under the tree. I

told her that was me. I think the only reason the tree didn't crush the truck

was because the telephone wires stayed on the pole."

"I'm still shaking today," he added, two days after the incident.

Main Street Closed

Main Street was closed for hours and the police department was forced to

operate on its emergency generator. Power was restored to most of that area by

10 am on Tuesday.

About 20 residences in scattered locations across town still were without

power at 2 pm Wednesday, but CL&P anticipated that everyone would be restored

before the end of the day. Not so in other towns, however. There were still

2,300 customers without power in New Milford and 20,000 out in the central

part of the state around Hartford and Simsbury.

Parts of about 20 trees fell on streets in Newtown according to Mr Adams, who

said the area around Dinglebrook Lane, North Hanover Road, Lake Road and

Scenic View probably lost power because of trees on wires there.

Margo Jackson-Douglas said CL&P didn't have complete reports yet because the

utility was still too busy trying to restore power. But preliminary reports

showed calls reporting outages on Toddy Hill Road, Riverside Road, Fleetwood

Drive, Dinglebrook, and Butterfield.

The storm, which began with sleet in the early afternoon, made drivers

cautious and only a few minor motor vehicle accidents were reported in town,

according to the Newtown police.

Shirley Woytach said the storm caused some unusual damage at her house on Head

O' Meadow Road. A power surge knocked out the element on her two-year-old

water heater and the electronic control for the oven and burners on her

year-old stove. But the day of the storm, UPS delivered a package.

"It was my order of rose bushes shipped from Jackson Perkins," she said. "The

computer said it's time to plant."