“Then The Tree Came Into The Living Room”

Esther Bracken and her friend Ruth Buell (pictured) were chatting about Hurricane Sandy’s fury while sitting in Esther’s living room at the Rosenthal Gardens senior apartments. when all of sudden the unthinkable happened.

Wind was whipping through the high trees. They were swaying wildly. Then one of the trees, estimated to be between 40 and 50 feet high, crashed into the living room in Bracken’s apartment on Kirkham St. 

The women, longtime friends and neighbors, were stunned.

“We were sitting in the living room because we wanted to see the trees moving by my window,” Bracken said yesterday. ​“We were sitting on the sofa.”

“We were sitting there and all of sudden I got this feeling” Buell said.

What kind of feeling?

“I felt uncomfortable. It was the noise, the loud noises,” Buell said.

“And then the tree came right into the living room,” Bracken said, recalling the extraordinary event.

We caught up with Bracken and Buell at the Trinity Episcopal Church on the Green. The Rev. Sharon K. Gracen welcomed them and many others to a pasta dinner the Church hosted for residents in need last night. 

The huge tree ignored the two women, they said, as it headed right for the hallway. Soon the Rosenthal buildings was evacuated. Neither woman was hurt. Not a scratch. 

They were asked how the apartment is now.

“What apartment?” Bracken replied. 

“My ceiling fell in. My apartment is like an island now. My furniture, my sofa, my television are all gone.”

“My husband’s flag from his burial, thank God it survived. But I need to take it tomorrow to the cleaners. Make sure they wash it and fold it the way it is supposed to be folded,” she added. 

“We thank God,” said Buell. ​“He was watching over us. He was protecting us all the time.”

Both women were still anxious about the event they lived through. ​“I don’t think we’ll get over that,” Buell said. ​“I haven’t calmed down.”

But they were beginning the process. They were smiling. They were eating dinner. They were in place of comfort.

“And we are talking to you. That is good,” Buell observed.

“I have never in my old age ever went through a tragic thing like this. We were that close …” she said, not finishing her sentence.

Frantic Moment At Substation

Earlier Thursday, at about 2 p.m., out of nowhere, the power that had returned to Branford went out again. 

At police headquarters a generator immediately took over. So did David Ferrante, the key CL& P official assigned to Branford. Inside the operations room at police headquarters, where the daily conference call with the governor and other selectman and mayors was underway, there was a gasp until the generator resumed power. 

Ferrante told everyone to stay calm and cool as he checked it out. He later learned that a circuit problem discovered elsewhere was affecting Branford’s main substation.

Other circuits were re-routed, and power was back up a couple of hours later.  Meanwhile, CL& P workers were seen in different parts of town. 

At 1:30 p.m. at Branford’s police headquarters, Governor Dannel P. Malloy’s daily briefing got underway. For the past week, he has held statewide conversations with top city and town officials in the aftermath of the hurricane.

Enter President Obama

During the Thursday briefing, two familiar voices entered the governor’s conversation,  those of President Barack Obama and FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate, Bill Quinlan, CL&P Senior Vice President of Emergency Preparedness, told a radio show today.

“Craig is here with me,” the president told the state’s top leaders. 

Others present during the governor’s emergency meeting told the Eagle that Obama told the state’s top officials that Connecticut is one of four states that will receive the highest recovery priority from the federal government. The other states are New Jersey, New York and West Virginia. 

The president and Fugate made it clear they “did not want bureaucracy to get in the way of recovery,” one of the central criticisms of the delayed recovery following Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.

Weekend Arrives

As Friday afternoon arrived, following the week of Sandy’s destruction, power was returning in greater numbers to Branford; 3,903 customers or 23 percent of the company’s customers were still without power as of 2 p.m., primarily in Stony Creek and Pine Orchard.

Guilford and Madison residents are far behind Branford’s restoration and have been all week.

State Sen. Ed Meyer, the chair of the environmental committee, announced this afternoon that he will initiate public hearings to determine CL&P’s deficiencies after this latest storm.

“Almost five days after the storm hit, far too many families are left in the dark,” said Meyer.  “It is unacceptable that power will not be restored until next week - especially in light of performance standards for utility companies that I fought for last session.”

Meyer said he made the decision after conferring with Guilford First Selectman Joe Mazza and Madison First Selectman Fillmore McPherson.

Update on Public Schools

 
Hamlet Hernandez, the schools superintendent, told families with school-aged children, children who have been out of school all week, that he anticipates resuming classes Monday. This assumes the power is on in all schools.  Schools will close again Tuesday for Election Day.

With the exception of Branford High School, the town’s schools don’t have generators. Hernandez asked residents to check local media and the town’s B-Alert system on the police department’s website, for Monday’s schedule. The school website will also have information if residents can use their computers.  Power was returning to the town’s schools, but as of late yesterday it was still out at Walsh Intermediate School. 

First Selectman Unk DaRos said the town’s transfer station will open Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.  He asked residents to put fallen brush and tree limbs on the side of streets for pick-up and not to throw this debris in Dumpsters located in different parts of town.

“There should be no household garbage in the Dumpsters or brush.” He said placing these materials in the Dumpsters was causing real problems.

Oh No—Snow?

DaRos noted that during Hurricane Irene there was a lot more daylight time because that storm occurred in late August. Now with Daylight Saving Time ending this Sunday and with colder weather arriving, the need for power to be restored has become crucial. No power means no heat.

As for the possibility of snow on Wednesday, DaRos said he was aware of that prediction.

“But first let’s have the election,” he said.

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