Dutchess County Winter Storm Update
Saturday, March 3rd
Poughkeepsie… The impact of yesterday’s winter storm has been far reaching throughout Dutchess County with significant power outages and multiple road closures as the storm continued overnight. The Dutchess County Emergency Operations Center is open and is coordinating activity between local municipalities as well as utility service providers to reopen roadways as soon as possible and expedite power restoration efforts.
Central Hudson reports more than 27,000 customers without power, New York State Electric and Gas (NYSEG) reports approximately 3,800 customers without power. There are multiple county and local road closures throughout Dutchess County, primarily in the northern (Red Hook, Rhinebeck, Milan) and central (LaGrange, Beekman, Washington) portions of the county as a result of down wires and/or trees. Road closure is defined as a portion of a road that is not passable for emergency vehicles.
“This was a very tough storm and Dutchess County got walloped. We ask people to be very cautious if they need to be out of the road and bear in mind that roads throughout the county have been affected. The more people can avoid travel, the faster we can get roads cleared and reopened,” said Dutchess County Executive Marcus Molinaro.
Central Hudson officials reported full deployment of all of the crews with additional mutual aid continuing to arrive from other areas to assist. Restoration efforts will continue through the weekend and likely will not be complete until next week.
County Executive Molinaro hosted a conference call this morning with all local municipal leaders, as well as state representatives and utility service providers to further assess areas of need and ensure efforts are coordinated to open critical roadways for emergency responders.
Municipal leaders are monitoring weather conditions closely to determine need for warming centers or overnight shelters in the coming days. Currently, two municipalities have opened facilities for residents to utilize today for warming, cell phone charging and other needs:
- Amenia Town Hall, 4988 Route 22, Amenia; call Supervisor Victoria Perotti at (845) 235-2499
- Dover Town Hall, 126 E Duncan Hill Road, Dover; Hours 1pm to 4pm
- Beekman Fire House, 316 Beekman-Poughquag Road (County Route 7); Hours: noon to 5pm
Dutchess County Emergency Response 911 Communications Center continues to have high call volume. More than 16000 emergency calls were dispatched over a 24 hour period yesterday, triple normal call volume. Residents are reminded that calls to report outages (include cable, internet and power) should be directed to their local utility service provider. Reports of downed wires, particularly live and sparking, should be reported to 911 as these are life-safety emergencies.
Dutchess County Public Works highway crews are coordinating with Central Hudson and NYSEG to clear wires and trees to open roadways as quickly as possible.
