The Alternative Press

Area towns are battling back today from the early winter storm that hit yesterday morning, blanketing much of the state in heavy, wet snow that knocked out power, downed trees and caused the governor to declare a state of emergency everywhere by mid-evening.

While the sun is out and roadways are beginning to clear and dry, area police caution drivers and pedestrians to be aware there are still trees and power lines down, in some cases blocking streets. Much of the area remains without power, and JCP&L says it will be well into next week before power is restored everywhere.

In Northern New Jersey, our JCP&L crews are working to restore service to more than 250,000 customers affected by the wet, heavy snow and gusting winds. The affected counties include Essex, Hunterdon, Morris, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union and Warren. Ohio crews have been working with JCP&L crews since the snowstorm began. In addition, crews from central New Jersey are being deployed to the north as the damage in that area is repaired.

"We were prepared for this storm," said JCP&L President Donald M. Lynch.  "We brought crews from our sister utilities in Ohio to make sure they were in our area well ahead of the snowstorm.  They have been working with the JCP&L crews since this snowstorm began.  In addition, our crews from central New Jersey are being deployed to the north as the damage in that area is repaired.  The wet, heavy snow has resulted in thousands of locations where we need to assess the damage and make repairs, and the outage numbers could continue to rise throughout the night as snow continues to accumulate."

For updated information on the company's preparation efforts for the early snowstorm, current outages, FirstEnergy's storm restoration process and tips for staying safe, go to www.firstenergycorp.com.  JCP&L will also provide updates via Twitter – @JCP_L.

FirstEnergy customer call centers are fully staffed. To report an outage, JCP&L customers should call 1-888-LIGHTSS (1-888-544-4877), or 1-800-545-7738.

Many events scheduled in the area for today have been cancelled, and some school districts have announced that schools will be closed tomorrow. Please check with your local school district for details.

After surveying the damage this morning, Westfield Mayor Andy Skibitsky said "It's probably twice as much damage as there was from Hurricane Irene."

In other towns:

• West Orange has opened a shelter at West Orange High School with food and water for all residents. West Orange schools are closed on Monday.
   
• Madison has opened a Warming Shelter at the Ambulance Building, and residents who need to charge their cell phones may bring their chargers and phones to the Public Safety Building, 62 Kings Road. Operation Mischief Night has been cancelled for tonight. Madison schools are closed tomorrow.
   
• In Summit, the warming and charging station has been moved from Summit High School to the Middle School, 272 Morris Avenue. (No pets.) Summit Public Schools will be closed tomorrow, and Halloween trick-or-treating has been rescheduled for Friday, Nov. 4.
   
• Millburn schools are closed on Monday.

New Jersey Transit reports that the Morris & Essex line, Gladstone Branch and Montclair Branch are suspended today due to downed trees and overhead wires. Buses may be subject to detours, and system-wide cross honoring will be in effect all day today.