Note — We’re happy to report that after this story was filed, the number of Connecticut Light & Power residents in the dark in Beacon Falls dropped to 68 percent. It had been at 100 percent since the weekend.
ORIGINAL POST FOLLOWS:
While surrounding towns cancelled Trick or Trunk events on Halloween because of the power outages, Beacon Falls scrambled to organize one.
“It was hard enough not having power, and we said the kids need this,” said Eddie Rodriguez, the town’s Emergency Management Director.
The town had the event at Woodland Regional High School.
Beacon Falls didn’t originally have an event planned, Rodriguez said. But after advising parents to keep their kids off the dark, debris-filled streets, the town decided to organize a community trick-or-treating event in the high school parking lot.
Town firefighters drove throughout residential streets, broadcasting the hours and location. And, in case someone had phone service, they sent out a reverse-911 call to residents to let them know.
More than 100 people showed up, Rodriguez said.
“It was a great success,” he said.
The town has been coping without power since Saturday.
Beacon Falls has become the center of attention in the area, because a power substation located in town feeds electricity to surrounding towns.
Distribution wires leaving the station and the substation itself were damaged in the storm. Click here to read more about that.
Rodriguez said Beacon Falls got its phone service back Tuesday morning.
The public works crews have cleared all debris from the roads, and there are no more closed roads.
“We’re just waiting for power to return,” Rodriguez said.
Four buildings are running on generators — and three are open to the public to use for heat, electricity and in some cases, food and showers.
The buildings are the town hall, Woodland Regional High School and the senior center.
Residents may sleep at Woodland Regional High School and use the showers there. The shelter is open on Back Rimmon Road 24 hours a day.
The senior center on North Main Street is also open 24 hours a day, and can accommodate overnight stays for senior citizens and people with medical issues. The town is also providing hot meals at the senior center.
The town hall is open business hours, and may be used for charging electronics, or warmth, Rodriguez said.
The fourth building with generator power is the Beacon Hose Co. headquarters on North Main Street, where the emergency command center is located.
Rodriguez said thousands of residents have taken advantage of the shelters.
The town has more than 100 volunteers helping out in different emergency response aspects, he said.
“It’s been non-stop,” Rodriguez said. “The volunteers and cooperation with everyone in town has been great.”