POLICE: Use Caution

The following is a press release from the Orange Police Department.

Utility crews continue to assess damage, remove downed trees and make repairs.

The Police Department would like to stress that residents be very cautious of tree limbs that may be compromised and may continue to fall.

Barricaded areas are danger areas. Vehicles should NOT drive around barricades and people should NOT approach downed wires. Wires that appear innocuous may still be charged with electricity and can be dangerous or fatal.

Residents using generators are reminded to have a qualified electrician ensure they are not feeding electricity back into the wires outside of your home. This could endanger utility workers and can also be dangerous for the home or business when service power is restored.

There is no current estimate of time to make all the necessary repairs and remove damage caused by the storm. Crews are working diligently in our area as well as across the state. Residents and businesses should be aware the clean up and power restoration could still take several days.

Editor's Note: There were 45 different "events" in Orange that the UI has to address. Currently 4,779 customers are without power. If you are within that 77% of the town without power, please be patient.

The UI is sticking to its regular protocol, the incidents that affect the highest number of customers get priority status.

Also, as power is restored, many fire alarms are tripping, therefore keeping the volunteer firefighters on their feet as well.

If your power is out, remember to unplug major appliances, tvs etc. which could be damaged with the sudden surge of power when your electricity is restored.

The ground is still soft, and the danger of falling trees is high, so be aware of this possibility if you are "sight seeing" today.