Thousands of people in the Capital Region woke up Wednesday morning without power after severe storms blew through the area Tuesday.
High winds knocked over trees and power lines around the region. On Wednesday morning, National Grid's outage map showed approximately 49,000 people without power in the greater Capital Region and into the North Country.
A state of emergency was declared in Warren and Saratoga counties on Wednesday afternoon.
Crews were out throughout the morning, clearing debris and working to restore power to affected areas. National Grid warned some outages may be long-term.
Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple said Wednesday morning on Facebook that there were approximately 5,500 power outages in the county, 2,700 of them in Guilderland.
Saratoga and Warren counties were some of the hardest hit areas in the eastern part of the state, leaving residents and recovery crews with quite a bit of work left to do Wednesday, about 24 hours from when a potent line of storms rolled through.
In addition to downed trees and power outages, the area, including along the shores of the Great Sacandaga Lake, received some substantial structural damage as well.
Utility workers continued working Wednesday to restore power to homes and businesses across the state, as homeowners surveyed damage outside their front doors.
“Tree fell, fell on the house, didn’t make really make a whole bunch of loud noises, but we certainly knew that something hit the house,” said Paul Girard, whose home damaged in Tuesday’s storm. Fortunately, Girard said he and his family were safe.
Gusty winds knocked down dozens of other trees around the Glens Falls.
“When you get to 85, 87 miles per hour, trees are coming down…some on houses, some in backyards we don’t even know about yet,” Glens Falls Public Works Department Superintendent Tom Girard said.
In Saratoga County, an uprooted tree destroyed a backstop at a ballfield.
“You know, we didn’t suffer a lot of the damage that some our neighbors up to the north did, but we did have some weather-related incidents,” said Joseph Plewinski of the Round Lake Fire Department.
He recalled the moment Tuesday evening's storms rolled through. He said firefighters were ready to assist.
“It’s a constant state of readiness. We’re always ready to react, and if we need help, we call it,” Plewinski said.
Recent weather has saturated the ground and weakened tree roots. Another storm could cause more damage, so awareness is key.
“When you hear the alerts, start making plans. When you hear the warning, start taking action to shelter in place, batten down the hatches, get ready, because you just don’t know,” he said.
Warren County officials said Wednesday that approximately 16,000 people there were without power, with National Grid arranging dry ice and water distribution for the county.
The heavy rains closed Lake George’s Million Dollar Beach and camping in the Narrow Island group of Lake George Islands, the state Department of Environmental Conservation said.
Rain caused elevated levels of E. coli at the beach, which will remain closed until normal testing levels return, DEC said. Camping and day-use sites in the islands are closed until further notice while crews pickup trees and repair docks.
The following Warren County roads were still closed Wednesday afternoon:
- Schroon River Road in Warrensburg from Pucker Street to County Route 11
- Federal Hill Road in Bolton
- Valley Woods Road in Bolton
- East River Drive in Lake Luzerne
State Route 28 is also still closed in Johnsburg.
Heavy damage was also reported in the northwest Saratoga County towns of Edinburg and Day, where county officials urged residents to avoid the area and warned of extended power outages in what “could be a long-duration restoration event.”
More than 5,000 National Grid customers were without power Wednesday afternoon, according to the National Grid website. Members of the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office, Office of Emergency Management and Department of Public Works were working with National Grid in Day and Edinburg.
The following roads were closed while officials worked to de-energize downed power lines and assess damage:
Town of Day:
- North Shore Road between Min Allen Road and Hadley Hill Road & from Snow Road to Military Road
- South Shore Road from County Route 10 to the Batchellerville Bridge
- Hadley Hill Road
- Sacandaga Ave
- Turner Road
- Lebanon Road
Town of Edinburg:
- Foxhill Road
- South Shore Road from Foxhill Rd to County Route 10
- North Shore Road from Military Road to Town of Day Line
- Snow Road