Morris County: 13,684 still without power as storm approaches

Thousands of Morris County residents woke up Tuesday to a fourth morning without power as JCP&L crews continued to repair damage caused by Friday's nor'easter that downed wires, trees and utility poles.

JCP&L on Tuesday morning reported 13,684 Morris County residents were still without power.

About 48,854 state customers also were without power as of Tuesday morning.

Most Morris County residents will have their power restored by Tuesday night, according to JCP&L spokesperson Ron Morano. Some outages in the northwest tip of Morris and into Sussex County may have to wait until Wednesday, Morano said.

Repair crews also are racing the clock to complete as much work as possible before another predicted storm arrives Tuesday night, with forecasts of 8 to 12 inches of snow falling overnight and into Wednesday.

Republican 25th District Assemblyman Anthony Bucco, whose district includes some of the storm's hardest-hit towns, called on Gov. Phil Murphy to declare a state of emergency to allow local governments to access additional resources and recover expenses.

"It is my understanding that there are still about 90,000 residents without power even as crews work around-the-clock," Bucco said Monday. "Additionally, the National Weather Service has issued a coastal flood warning and a hazardous weather outlook, saying another coastal storm is expected to impact the state Tuesday night and Wednesday."

“The governor continues to monitor the damage and outages caused by the nor’easter," Murphy press aide Alyana Alfaro said. "Every relevant state agency is working with the utilities to assess all options for restoring power as quickly as possible to all that remain impacted by the storm.”

Assemblymen Parker Space (R-24) and Christopher DePhillips (R-40) made similar requests of Murphy.

"We are adding 420 line workers, about 500 hazard responders and 400 forestry workers," Morano said Monday. "Since this started, we've opened more than 850 roads that were blocked."

Morano said he understands customers are frustrated, and "we appreciate their patience," but "this was a major winter storm with heavy, wet snow and high winds" that took down thousands of trees.

Students at Pequannock Valley Middle School were affected by the power outages Monday. But it didn’t stop educators.

"Brought my entire middle school over to the high school because of a power outage," said Richard Hayzler, the middle school's principal on Twitter.

JCP&L serves all of Morris County except Lincoln Park, which is serviced by PSE&G. PSE&G repair crews provided mutual aid to JCP&L efforts Monday, and are expected to remain in Morris County for several days.

Another storm: Snow or heavy rain may hit North Jersey on Wednesday

Storm death: Man electrocuted after touching downed wire during nor'easter

Morris County, along with Hunterdon, Warren and Sussex, were the regions most affected by the storm in terms of power loss.

Customers are reminded to stay away from downed power lines, assume any downed wire is carrying electricity and call JCP&L, police or fire departments to report them.

Some towns and businesses are offering water, ice, charging and warming stations and other services for residents without power.

JCP&L also has activated its residential ice and water program, making them available at dozens of Shop Rite, Acme, King's and Weis grocery stores throughout northwest New Jersey.

Staff Writer William Westhoven: 973-917-9242; wwesthoven@GannettNJ.com