Mansfield Begins Post-Hurricane Irene Cleanup

Cleanup and restoration efforts are underway in Mansfield, as Town officials continue to assess the damage caused by Hurricane Irene and restore power to residents.

As of 5 p.m. Monday, 6,123 of Mansfield’s 6,560 Connecticut Light & Power customers (93 percent) were without power, and John Jackman, Mansfield’s director of emergency management, said that “very little had been done in Mansfield today” by CL&P crews to fix that.

“We have people that are literally stranded,” said Jackman. “Others are on generators. That needs to be fixed,” he said. “We’re still working on the basics. Getting that to happen depends on CL&P and their line and power crews." 

Jackman said that service towers from AT&T were also damaged during the storm, making it difficult for residents and town officials to make and receive calls.

“Life is different these days,” said Jackman. “We’re more dependent on our electronics and I understand how it can frustrate a lot of people," he said.

As for , Lon Hultgren, the Town’s director of public works said that the department had been out since the storm chipping brush, removing branches and even clearing roads with a small plow.

“We’ve been doing general cleanup just about any way you can do it,” Hutgren said. “Everything that’s left, has wires on it. We’re just waiting for CL&P,” he said.

As of Monday afternoon, Jackman said he still believed it would take five to seven days to fully restore power to Mansfield, and that an estimated time to provide full access to all roads was “very much a moving target.”

Jackman did say however, that a number of major roads, such as Rte. 32, Rte. 44, Rte. 77 and Rte. 195 had been cleared for at least one lane of access.

“I think if you’re one of the ones on the tail-end of restoration, patience may be difficult,” Jackman said. “But also keep in mind that this is the largest power outage the state has ever seen,” he said.

In the meantime, the Town will open its Council Chambers to residents on Monday until 6 p.m. Refreshments as well as computer and recharging stations will be made available. The Town has also set up two potable water stations for residents to fill their personal containers outside of Town Hall and the .

Mansfield is also working on opening an emergency shelter for residents in need, and is currently in talks with the American Red Cross. As of Monday, the Community Center, the Town’s designated shelter location, remained without power and repairs were being made to restore its generator to working condition.

“I can’t say enough about our staff,” Jackman said. “Our residents have been great too. We’ll all get frustrated during this, but I think we’ll do a good job in the end. Everyone has been very understanding.”

Stick with Patch for more updates as they become available.