West Hartford Residents Urged to Stay Off Roads

The night is filled with the sound of tree limbs cracking and falling to the ground, often taking power lines with them.

"We can't plow effectively because there are so many wires either down or hanging so low that the trucks can't get through," said Director of Public Works John Phillips late Saturday evening.

At some point, he said, the crews will have to just wait until daybreak so they can see what they're doing. He said much of the snow may melt before they can plow it because of the need to remove trees and debris before the trucks can get through.

Phillips said that there is currently one CL&P crew working in West Hartford right now. Tree crews from the Department of Public Works are assisting as much as possible. "We're doing what we can," he said, but it's difficult to see where the wires are.

"This storm has caused much more damage in West Hartford than Tropical Storm Irene," Phillips said. As of 10:20 p.m., there were 20,876 CL&P customers (74 percent) without power in West Hartford.

West Hartford has not opened an emergency operations center or shelter for this storm. The Department of Public Works, however, is in constant communication with the Fire Department. They have responded to a dozen situations where trees have come through windows and breached homes.

Phillips' advice: "Stay inside tonight and tomorrow morning. It's very dangerous out there."