Power Still Out for Thousands With Restoration Expected for Many Over the Weekend

Fewer than 108.000 Long Islanders were without power from Tuesday’s tropical storm, PSEG-LI said Thursday.

While service expected to be restored by Friday for many people, the utility said that Saturday night is when several areas will be restored, including parts of Huntington, including Centerport, Huntington Station, Lloyd Harbor, Commack, Elwood, Northport and East Northport, Dix Hills, Melville and West Hills. Others ssaid they’d been told their power wouldn’t return until Sunday.

Highway Superintendent Kevin Orelli said, “Please bear with us. The storm has affected the entire 800 miles of roadway. We are working diligently to clear the roads. Our crews will be working extended hours each day and throughout the weekend to ensure all of our town roads are open and safe. We are also assisting PSEG with trees that are involved in the power transmission lines. Should you need to report a highway-related matter, you can call the Highway Department’s hotline at: 631-499-0444. If the call volume is high, you will be prompted to leave a voice message and a service ticket will be created. If you provide a phone number and/or an email address, we can send you an electronic confirmation of your call in addition to providing you with automatic notifications of your inquiry’s status.

“Once all roads have been cleared of fallen trees, we will begin to remove debris from Town right-of-ways and curbs. Please know that the Town of Huntington Highway Department will only clear debris from Town trees. Companies hired to remove private trees are responsible to remove the debris as well. The Town of Huntington Highway Department does not contract with private companies to remove debris from privately owned trees.”

More than 48 hours after the storm hit, many Huntington residents say they’ve had to throw out food as the power failures drag on and had to run out for water or ice to stay cool or to try to rescue food supplies. Rain, and a possible thunderstorm, with cooler temperatures, are forecast for Friday A worker at King Kullen in Huntington Station planning to put bags of ice into a freezer was quickly swarmed by a few shoppers(Food safety tips during an outage.)

The utility said that more than 3,000 reports of fallen trees or large tree limbs have been recorded, and that PSEG workers and contractors had cleared more than 500 locations. Workers from elsewhere in New York, plus New Jersey, Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Florida, Alabama, Kansas and Missouri are working to restore service.

The condition of roads and homes damaged by fallen trees varies widely. On many streets, there is no warning about the piles of debris or trees. Drivers often come around a corner and encounter hazards unmarked by traffic cones or caution tape, and then have to decide whether to try to pass the hazard or back up and find another route to their destination.

On one street in Melville, a tree rested against high-tension wires, its broken limbs dangled precariously over the street. Two nearby homes were already under repair, one with a roof covered by a large tarp, the other had workers