June 3, 2009

Storm rips through region

By JOSEPH P. SMITH
Staff Writer

VINELAND -- A storm system blowing this way from Delaware late Tuesday afternoon cut a path of downed trees, branches and power lines all the way to the Jersey Shore.

Power outages were left in the storm's wake, the most damage coming in Salem and Cumberland counties based on official reports.

Vineland Municipal Electric Utility reported 2,000 to 3,000 customers affected initially.

At 9 p.m., VMEU Director Joseph Isabella said all but 200 to 300 were back on the system. Roughly 25 VMEU employees and contractors were working Tuesday evening.

Isabella said the remaining outages were scattered, and predicted it could take until midnight to restore them. Many power outages were caused not by single, but multiple incidents of branches falling.

"The line crews are working until everybody is back," Isabella said.

Vineland police Lt. Steve Cleveland said at least 10 trees fell on major roadways.

Joe Miketta, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Mount Holly, said the service re-corded gusts up to 60 mph.

"A fairly narrow band, but it did a lot of damage," Miketta said of the storm.

Miketta said the service had issued a thunderstorm warning, and the storm matched the prediction.

Radar did not record any of the rotation that marks a tornado, he said. Still, the power was impressive. Lights flickered for several minutes at Millville City Hall around 4:30 p.m.

Millville firefighters were called out three times for downed wires, and came across a fourth on one of the calls.

Vineland was much busier, with most of the damage south of Chestnut Avenue toward the city line and east of the Boulevard to Union Road.

Vineland firefighters went to Main Road when a tree fell on top of a vehicle. The woman inside wasn't hurt, though.

Large, fallen trees were reported on Garry Avenue and on South Lincoln.

On Blackberry Court off Magnolia Avenue, winds pulled up a tree and left it on a house occupied by 65-year-old Bennie Rivera. She'd just gotten up to close a window when it happened, according to her daughter, Marcie McDonald.

"It uprooted the biggest tree in our backyard," McDonald, 46, said. The tree landed on the roof, garage and porch.

"I can't believe it," McDonald said. "It's like science fiction."

At 8:14 p.m., several hours into the repair effort, Atlantic City Electric reported it had 4,322 customers without power in Cumberland County. The total was 5,268 in Salem.

Atlantic County had 874 customers off-line.

Atlantic City Electric spokeswoman Sandra May said the peak number of homes affected still was being assessed.

Strong winds blew a tree onto Helen Avenue between East Grant and Iowa avenues in Vineland after a heavy storm swept through the region. (Staff photos/Cody Glenn)

Crews work to free a car from under a tree that fell on the vehicle as it traveled north on Main Road near Garry Avenue in Vineland during a heavy storm Tuesday afternoon.