The Camden County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in Lindenwold has received numerous reports of downed trees and power outages across the county. Due to the saturation of the last 24 hours and the previous high winds municipalities in the northern region of the county are dealing with downed trees that have knocked out overhead power lines. In Camden City alone PSE&G is working to get a substation back online that is responsible for more than 4,000 homes without power.
“We have received multiple reports of downed trees and over 7,600 total power outages due to the storm. Please report any outages you experience to your utility company,” said Freeholder Jonathan Young, liaison to the Camden County Office of Emergency Management. “We strongly recommend that everyone to stay off of the roads. Even though the storm has cleared out of our area, the roads remain treacherous due to the frozen surfaces.”
The Camden County Dispatch Center has processed more than 1,500 calls today as of 3 p.m., including 486 for fire, 910 for police and 186 EMS. To put this in perspective, the county averages about 180 fire calls in a normal 24 hour period. Many of the fire calls are related to downed trees and wires and none have been major incidents since the start of Stella.
In the event that the weather causes isolated power outages, please remember to immediately call your utility provider so they can identify the location and coordinate crews to restore your power. Residents need to be extra cognizant of any power failures. Below are numbers and contact info for the two power providers in Camden County:
- PSE&G: 1-800-436-PSEG (7734)
- PSEG website: http://pseg.com/home/customer_service/outage_info/index.jsp
- Atlantic City Electric: 1-800-833-7476
- Atlantic City Electric website: http://www.atlanticcityelectric.com/home/
- South Jersey Gas: 1-800-582-7060
- South Jersey Gas website: http://southjerseygas.com/
Since the storm began, 90 pieces of equipment and 100 employees have been deployed from the Public Works complex in Lindenwold to Camden County’s 12 winter maintenance districts. The county’s response plan calls for crews to be dispatched only to the zones where they are needed.
At this time all county roads are open and cleared, with the exception of Haddonfield-Berlin Road by the Marlton Avenue intersection in Gibbsboro due to flooding. That flooding is being rectified by a highway crew now, but motorists should look for an alternate route around the area. Crews are continuing to apply product to the roadways to stave off overnight ice that could potentially form from the below freezing temperatures and another small band of additional precipitation that is currently coming down.
“Crews have been in since last night working around the clock to ensure that all roads are passable.” Freeholder Susan Shin Angulo said. “Right now 99.9 percent of county roads are clear.Tree removal and downed power lines have been challenging but we have cleared the obstacles from our highways. Moving forward, crews will come back to work overnight to identify any problematic portion of our 1,400 lane miles of road.”