Branford’s Lighting Up

Bruce and Mary Nichol (pictured) stood on the beach shaking their heads. Their screen porch had collapsed in a heap beneath the house, leaving their home about to collapse. The couple has summered on Beckett Avenue in Short Beach for 35 years.

“There is an irony here,” said Bruce Nichol. This house — an old style shingle built in 1870 — had weathered many storms. ​“It made it through the hurricane of 1938, Nichol said, referring to the state’s most powerful hurricane on record.

Then came Hurricane Irene.

“This time was different,” he went on.  “This time the high tide and the angle at which Hurricane Irene came into the harbor created devastation.

Short Beach is still without power, as is Stony Creek on the other end of Branford. But power is being restored. By Wednesday morning, Day 4 after the hurricane, about 20 percent of the town’s power had been restored.  By Thursday morning the percentage reached nearly 50 percent.  Branford was far ahead of nearby Guilford and Madison, where more than three-fourths of the towns were still in the dark.

Thursday’s priorities are to restore power to West Main Street with its many businesses and to nearby Alps Road where Branford Hills Health Care is still on a generator.

  “We have an onslaught of new workers in Branford this morning. They have come from Indiana, Iowa and Missouri and other areas of the country,” said Capt. Geoff Morgan, the police department spokesman.  The second priority is to restore electricity to “our waste water treatment plant on Block Island Rd.,” Morgan said.

Lt. Raymond Dunbar, who is heading the town’s emergency operation, said that First Selectman Unk DaRos had made sure that the Connecticut Light & Power (CL&P)) had provided a liaison to the town. That supervisor, David A. Ferrante, is in Branford and his presence has been invaluable, Dunbar said.

“He sees what we see and he relays it to the person in charge. He speaks their language. And he understands us. This is key in getting it done quickly,” Dunbar said.

  In other developments:

—Officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) arrived yesterday to assess damage to public property. FEMA representatives will be in town later this week to assess damages of private property and businesses. Eighteen homes have sustained severe damage and all have been inspected by the town’s building officials. 

—U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal was scheduled to talk to DaRos and other town officials today at Town Hall.

—A major town effort began Thursday to distribute ready-to-eat meals and water to the elderly and other residents in need. About 1,200 meals have been have been distributed in Pawson Park, Short Beach, Indian Neck and other communities. Volunteers and members of the Boy Scouts fanned out across the communities to deliver the food and water. Those heading the effort are Rick Hart of the Branford Fire Department, Dagmar Ridgway, the top official at the Senior Center, Pat Andriole, the head of the Branford Counseling Center and Trista Milici, the executive assistant to the first selectman. Wal-Mart sent trucks to Hartford to pick up the ready-to-eat meals, and the Connecticut Shellfish Co. loaned a truck in which to store real ice.

—Planet Fitness told the Eagle that it had opened its gym to local residents who need to take showers. The Y offered showers as well.

  —- The Community Dining Room is providing meals for the town staff, those still in shelters and first responders.

—B-Informed, the reverse 911 line from police and the first selectman’s office, provided daily updates on the storm. Many residents still do not have full cell or telephone service and until yesterday most residents were without television access.  Those who were able toreceive the updates said they were grateful for them.

—Sept. 1. was the first official day of duty for Kevin Halloran, the police department’s new police chief. 

Back on Beckett Avenue in Short Beach, work crews continued to clean-up the heavily hit area. FEMA officials, two federal officials and one state official arrived late yesterday afternoon with First Selectman Unk DaRos and Town Engineer Janice Plaziak. They assessed roads and damage to the town’s infrastructure. They may not have seen a group of photos drying out on the side of the road.

“They looked at seawalls off Beckett Avenue and pumping stations nearby, “ DaRos said. ​“They also inspected Linden Avenue in the Indian Neck section of town. That road collapsed and part of it lies in the sea.”

“My major effort is to get some federal funding for Branford. We are going to need a lot of help,” DaRos told the Eagle. 
 
For Branford alone DaRos estimated the clean-up and reconstruction will be in the millions of dollars. ​“We have overtime expenses. We are also pumping 3,800 gallons of diesel fuel a day in order to keep 20 or more generators going. And the Linden Avenue project will be extremely costly in its own right,” he said.

DaRos said his department heads are keeping close records of every aspect of the impact of the hurricane. Town Hall itself now has power but internet and e‑mail service is still a problem. 

Across the way from Nichol home on Beckett Avenue, Dr. Collin Watson and is wife Severin and their two young children were cleaning up. Their raised ranch had been hit hard. Their furniture was on the lawn drying out.

The Eagle got a chance to look inside to see the high water mark, which measured at 50.5 inches. Severin is pointing to the line in the photograph. He said on the morning of Irene’s arrival, his sump pump was working hard. Then it stopped.

Many storms have visited Beckett Avenue, which lies a short distance from Long Island Sound. ​“Our house has been flooded multiple times over the years. But this is the first time that we have had salt water inside,” he said. 

“We had more water in here than we did when Hurricane Gloria arrived,” he said.

The community outpouring was nothing short of amazing,” he said. ​“I have always known how wonderful a community Short Beach is but the reaction this time was unbelievable.”

People poured into the house, took down damaged trees, began cleaning, picked up the seaweed and just helped out any way they could. There were men and women in here and kids as well. One kid was six years old!

Though Short Beach is still without power and phone service, the community is going ahead with its traditional Short Beach Days celebration over Labor Day weekend. This is its 65th anniversary.

Wednesday night lights were on at the Blackstone Memorial Library for the first time since the storm. A number of residents, desperate for internet access, came by to use the library’s wi-fi, but it was not yet running they reported.

Diana Stricker Contributed Reporting for this story.

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