First Incident Of The Night; Storm Knocks Down Trees & Power Lines in South Utica
By: Rachel Polansky
Updated: October 30, 2012
It was just a matter of time. Winds are picking up and power lines are starting to come down. Despite Sandy no longer being considered a hurricane, it's still causing some damage to our area.
Some residents from Rome all the through to Herkimer and even Cooperstown are without power tonight. Eyewitness News was at the scene of the first incident in South Utica.
Officials received their first call of the night a little after 7pm. A tree down on Van Vorst Street and Holland Avenue in South Utica that took out a power line.
"Wow! I didn't expect it, kind of crazy," says Koren Wright, witness and Holland Avenue resident.
But city officials were ready. The Utica Command Center was at the scene within minutes.
"You can see where the limb has been taken down by the winds. The winds are starting to increase as we speak. And this is our first, unfortunately, of what we think will be many through the night," says Mayor Robert Palmieri, Utica.
"A wind gust took some branches down, and that in turn came down on the power lines, so we have live lines down. And they're very dangerous, and we're waiting for National Grid," says Chief Russell Brooks, Utica Fire Department.
No one was hurt at the scene and Fire Chief Brooks says the city has formed a special team to fight this storm.
"This special hazard team that we put together for tonight. We have 4 units like this that will be responding to these calls throughout the night, and we expect there to be many, many of them," says Chief Brooks.
The tree limb landed in the street, but neighbors say they're worried about other nearby trees.
"I wouldn't want one to fall on top of my roof, on my porch. I don't want that damage to be done, so I'm a little nervous, but let's hope it doesn't happen," says Wright.
Residents and officials have a message for the community.
"Stay inside, definitely stay inside. It's gonna get a lot worse," says Wright.
"Once the winds start picking up and they are, tree limbs, debris, you won't wanna put anyone in harms way," says Mayor Palmieri.
Now the weather doesn't look too bad just yet, but Eyewitness News Meteorologist Jeff Matthews says the height of the storm is yet to come for our area. He anticipates winds over 50 miles per hour throughout the night and into the morning and he urges community members to stay inside.
For more weather updates, Follow @JMatthews_WUTR weather blog:
http://cnyhomepage.com/weather/weather-blog
Some residents from Rome all the through to Herkimer and even Cooperstown are without power tonight. Eyewitness News was at the scene of the first incident in South Utica.
Officials received their first call of the night a little after 7pm. A tree down on Van Vorst Street and Holland Avenue in South Utica that took out a power line.
"Wow! I didn't expect it, kind of crazy," says Koren Wright, witness and Holland Avenue resident.
But city officials were ready. The Utica Command Center was at the scene within minutes.
"You can see where the limb has been taken down by the winds. The winds are starting to increase as we speak. And this is our first, unfortunately, of what we think will be many through the night," says Mayor Robert Palmieri, Utica.
"A wind gust took some branches down, and that in turn came down on the power lines, so we have live lines down. And they're very dangerous, and we're waiting for National Grid," says Chief Russell Brooks, Utica Fire Department.
No one was hurt at the scene and Fire Chief Brooks says the city has formed a special team to fight this storm.
"This special hazard team that we put together for tonight. We have 4 units like this that will be responding to these calls throughout the night, and we expect there to be many, many of them," says Chief Brooks.
The tree limb landed in the street, but neighbors say they're worried about other nearby trees.
"I wouldn't want one to fall on top of my roof, on my porch. I don't want that damage to be done, so I'm a little nervous, but let's hope it doesn't happen," says Wright.
Residents and officials have a message for the community.
"Stay inside, definitely stay inside. It's gonna get a lot worse," says Wright.
"Once the winds start picking up and they are, tree limbs, debris, you won't wanna put anyone in harms way," says Mayor Palmieri.
Now the weather doesn't look too bad just yet, but Eyewitness News Meteorologist Jeff Matthews says the height of the storm is yet to come for our area. He anticipates winds over 50 miles per hour throughout the night and into the morning and he urges community members to stay inside.
For more weather updates, Follow @JMatthews_WUTR weather blog:
http://cnyhomepage.com/weather/weather-blog
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