Holiday storm caused flooding, power outage
Fire at substation primarily responsible for power failures
By libby Kesil
Staff Writer

The heavy rain that turned to snow on Christmas Day brought flooding and power outages to parts of Rumson.

Most severely affected were areas near the shoreline where tidal influences combined with the downpour, according to Rick Petrucelli of the borough’s Department of Public Works.

He acknowledged that another factor that complicated the situation was leaves clogging the storm drains, but said that the drains were quickly cleared and the problem abated.

According to Sgt. Scott Paterson of the borough’s police department, the power was out in several areas in town. He said some of the outages were due to a fire in a Jersey Central Power & Light (JCP&L) substation in the borough.

Peter Johner, a JCP&L spokesman, confirmed that the main outage was due to a fire at the substation where trees fell on the wires coming out of the facility.

He said the utility placed the start of the power loss at 6:14 p.m. Christmas and the situation was resolved by 12:24 a.m. on Thursday.

In total, Johner said, 76 customers lost power and in other parts of town and in other communities customers might have experienced minor problems such as lights flickering or a momentary loss of power. He said in those cases the system rights itself or quick action by the utility resolves the issue.

In addition to dealing with the flooding and power outages, the borough dispatched some plow trucks to clear roads made hazardous by the storm, according to Petrucelli.