Storm leaves roads closed and power out

A storm that hit Mantua and other towns on Jan. 9 left roads closed and many residents without power into the following morning.

Heavy and fast winds caused several trees around the community to collapse and their branches to land in the streets. One hard-hit area was the portion of Breakneck Road between Main Street and Jackson Road, where a tree collapsed onto a power line, its branches entangled in the wires.

Debris also littered the street and led to its closing; it reopened on Jan. 11.

The storm ultimately led to a busy night for township police and firefighters on what was also National Law Enforcement Day. Many residents were left without power, some until the weekend, but no serious injuries were reported.

“We were obviously busy last night (Jan. 9) handling over 40 calls for service,” said Fire Chief Brian Hauss. “Mostly trees and wires down, especially on Breakneck Road. Trees that were down across roadways that were able to be cut up were, and the roadways were quickly opened.

” … Roadways with wires wrapped in the trees had to remain closed, such as Breakneck Road, which remained closed all day, Jan. 10.”

To help residents cope with the power outages, the township posted tips on its Facebook page on how to properly deal with them from the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management and the American Red Cross. Mayor Robert Zimmerman discussed the storm in his mayor’s message.

“Our public safety personnel were busy tending to a multitude of issues, including downed wires and trees and motor-vehicle accidents resulting from the storm,” the mayor said. “Our police department handled 93 calls for service, and our fire department handled 43 calls for service around the community between 4 p.m. on Tuesday (Jan. 9) and 7 a.m. on Wednesday (Jan. 10). 

“Fortunately, there were no serious injuries reported.”

Damage from the storm was repaired by Jan. 15, including restoration of power to homeowners.