As of mid-day Thursday, more than 1,400 Eversource customers in West Hartford remained without power. [Updated, 9:30 p.m.]

Brace Road is closed near the intersection with Arlington Road due to tree limbs that took down power lines. Photo credit: Ted Newton

By Ronni Newton

A line of strong thunderstorms brought strong winds and torrential rain to Connecticut on Wednesday night, and while the storm was very fast-moving, in its wake it left downed limbs as well as entire trees – which in some cases landed on power lines.

As of 1:45 p.m. Thursday, there were 1,427 Eversource customers in West Hartford (4.83% of the total number of customers) still without power, roughly 16 hours after the storm blew through. Statewide the total number of Eversource customers in the dark had dropped from a high of roughly 49,000 to less than 30,000 by that time, but the number in West Hartford remained virtually unchanged.

Brace Road is closed near the intersection with Arlington Road due to tree limbs that took down power lines. Photo credit: Ted Newton

West Hartford Police posted a notice on the social media platform “X” at 6 a.m., informing the public that Mountain Road between Apple Hill Road and Walker Lane was closed due to downed wires. At 3 p.m., the roadway remained closed.

“Public Works is on top of any damage we are able to clean up not involving wires,” Director John Phillips said. “If you see debris in the street related to the storm please call Public Works.”

Phillips noted that a number of waste and recycling carts had tipped over because of the wind on Wednesday night. “We ask for the public’s help to clean up any litter on their street and catch basin tops near your home,” he said.

Fire Chief Greg Priest, who heads West Hartford’s Office of Emergency Management, said he has been in contact with the town’s Eversource liaison since the storm began and for the duration of the power restoration efforts. He said that emergency responders would be able to get through to assist anyone whose access is blocked due to downed wires and needs assistance.

On Thursday afternoon, the most significant outages, according to Eversource’s online map, included 626 customers in the Beacon Hill Road area, 427 in the Bainbridge Road/Penn Drive area, 269 customers in the Tunxis Road/Waterside Lane area, and 45 customers in the Brace Road/Arlington Road area. Estimated restoration for Beacon Hill was indicated to be by 8:15 p.m., and for Brace Road a posted restoration estimate was for 8:45 p.m. Tunxis/Waterside had an estimated restoration time of 5 p.m., and Bainbridge/Penn was still being evaluated.

Jamie Ratliff, spokesperson for Eversource, said in an email at 4:40 p.m. Thursday that the significant outages in West Hartford “were caused by tree limbs falling on electric equipment as storms barreled through the state overnight. Beacon Hill has an estimated time of restoration (ETR) of 8:15 p.m., and power has been restored at Tunxis Road/Waterside Lane. We are working closely with West Hartford and other communities across the state to respond to public safety concerns, make downed power lines safe, and address the needs of critical facilities. With the support of additional crews coming into the state today from Massachusetts and New Hampshire, our crews will work around the clock as quickly and safely as possible until power is restored for all customers.”

At 9:30 p.m., there were 427 West Hartford customers remaining without power. According to Eversource’s online outage map, those customers all appear to be in the Bainbridge Road/Penn Drive area.

Brace Road is closed near the intersection with Arlington Road due to tree limbs that took down power lines. Photo credit: Ted Newton

The weather forecast is for sunny skies and calm winds for the next several days, with the next chance of thunderstorms coming on Sunday, June 30.

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