Ansonia, Seymour and Oxford dealt with flooding, downed trees, power outages and a fire during Hurricane Irene Sunday.
Emergency officials said the damage could have been worse if Hurricane Irene hadn’t been downgraded to a tropical storm.
The Fire In Oxford
At about 2 p.m., downed wires on Jacks Hill Road in Oxford ignited a fire on the ground, and burned through asphalt and three feet of ground, according to Oxford Fire Chief Scott Pelletier.
It hit a gas line underground, which shot flames into the air, Pelletier said.
“It was burning right out of the ground,” he said.
There were no injuries, although several nearby homes were evacuated as a precaution.
The fire department had the gas and electricity turned off, and was able to put out the fire, Pelletier said.
The photos is courtesy of Oxford Patch. Click here to view more photos from the storm posted on Oxford Patch.
Flooding In Seymour And Oxford
The Housatonic River saw its worst flooding since March. Here’s a WTNH video showing the raging waters:
Several Oxford and Seymour homes were evacuated due to flooding concerns.
Seymour saw flooding along the Naugatuck River downtown — near Route 67 and on Derby Avenue.
On Route 67, underneath the Route 8 overpass, there was about 8 inches of water at about 2:30 p.m., according to police.
Article continues after the video and photo gallery.
The following photos were taken by Ron Barnes:
The raging Naugatuck River — which hit its second-highest level ever in Beacon Falls Sunday — brought on gaggles of onlookers to Route 67 after Irene cleared out.
Flood-curious Seymour residents included sisters Caitlin and Kathleen Cass, 22 and 18, respectively.
Caitlin said her grandmother, who survived the Flood of ’55, asked her to go take pictures of Sunday’s aftermath. The giant puddle that closed Route 67 at Bank Street was perfect.
Photo: Eugene Driscoll Seymour firefighters huddle Sunday morning.
Route 67 in Oxford also experienced flooding, near the Brookside Inn.
First Selectman Paul Roy had said about five homes on Derby Avenue had been evacuated because of the rising Naugatuck River, which flows behind their backyards in most cases.
Sonya Frink was one of them. She went to the town’s emergency shelter at the Seymour Middle School with her two granddaughters.
Getting to the shelter was difficult, according to her granddaughter, Alicia Rainville.
The family had to take three detours because of roads blocked with debris. Mountain Road, where the middle school is located, had a large tree fall into the road in front of the middle school.
Frink brought her Bible with her, and read from the book of John, chapter 17.
“It gives me some comfort,” Frink said of the verse, which talks about believers being protected from evil.
PHOTO: Tony Spinelli This tree blocked Mountain Road in Seymour Sunday.
The driver was able to get out of the car and to safety, according to Roy.
Oxford and Seymour residents along the Housatonic River also sought shelter elsewhere, as flood warnings were in effect for that river.
As of late Sunday, officials were watching levels of the Housatonic, which was expected to continue rising.
Ansonia
In Ansonia, the blow was less intense, but the city also had lots of downed power lines and trees.
The city activated a flood gate on the Naugatuck River near the train station as a precaution at about 10 a.m., according to Police Chief Kevin Hale, who is the city’s emergency management director.
As of 5:30 p.m. Sunday, the Naugatuck River at Beacon Falls had dipped to 9.5 feet.
Hale said the flood gates in Ansonia were opened again after noon, when the river receded.
The video below shows the Naugatuck River in Ansonia, near Olson Drive. Article continues after video.
As of 8:30 p.m. about 20 roads were closed or had sections closed off because of downed trees or power lines, Hale said.
Public works crews were working to clean up and United Illuminating was assessing damage throughout the state. Click here to read more about power outages in the Valley.
About three people took advantage of the city’s emergency shelter at Ansonia High School, according to city spokesperson Eileen Krugel. The shelter was closed at 1 p.m. Sunday, after the people left.
Hale said he was impressed that residents listened to warnings to stay inside during storm.
“The public really paid attention,” Hale said. “There were some people out there, but not too many. That really helped.”
Beacon Falls
In neighboring Beacon Falls, about 150 people were removed from homes and trailer homes along South Main Street, according to Jeremy Rodorigo, the assistant emergency management director for the town.
About 40 of those people ended up at the town’s shelter at Woodland High School.
The others had family and friends to stay with, Rodorigo said.
Rodoridgo said the fire department feared flooding on the street, which borders Seymour along Route 8. But by 2 p.m., no flooding had actually taken place, he said.
The residents were expected to return to their homes before the end of the day.
There were no injuries reported in Beacon Falls, but lots of wires and trees down, Rodorigo said.
Some roads near the Bethany border were washed out by the rain, he said.
