Darkened Norwalk Resembles A Maze In Parts

NORWALK, Conn. – Driving around Norwalk’s neighborhoods one day after Hurricane Sandy it is not hard to see what CL&P is up against.

Take West Norwalk. As dusk approached Tuesday, Ponus Avenue was blocked at Fox Run Road by no less than three downed trees – and possibly more.

Two men in florescent vests worked at the intersection to roll up a downed wire, thereby clearing access to a driveway. They said they had no idea if there were more downed trees down the road, over the crest of a hill, because they hadn’t gotten that far yet.

There were also downed-tree roadblocks in the area of 14 and 15 Fox Run Road, at 282 Fillow Street and at 41 Princess Pine Road. The area is a maze: if you venture in you might want to leave a trail of breadcrumbs, as you’ll be turning around a lot.

Richards Avenue looked promising, but it too was blocked.

One resident of Weed Avenue was thankful the department of public works had come to put up barrels and caution tape to warn motorists of the gigantic tree across the road, just up from her house.

“It’s almost 24 hours later,” she said. “That said, it’s not just like this here … God Bless them.”

She was told that help would arrive in this order:

• The safety crew
• The assessment crew
• The tree crew
• The electricity crew
• The cable television and the phone crew

She was not expecting the lights to come on soon. She didn’t mind that at all, but she wished the crews had done something to warn motorists of the heavy-duty wires stretching across her driveway. With the neighborhood completely dark she worried that they would back into the wires as they turned around.

She wondered what she might use to make the wires more obvious but said she couldn’t wrap them in caution tape. “You’re not supposed to touch this stuff,” she said.

The city says on its website that it has received approximately 150 reports of streets blocked by downed trees which took power and communication lines down with them.