With vicious wind gusts reaching near-hurricane force power, more than 5,000 Fair Lawn homes have lost power, according to PSE&G's Outage Map.

Fair Lawn Deputy Emergency Management Coordinator Wendy Demeraski confirmed that many homes in the area of Saddle River Road were without power. She said the borough's emergency operations center began receiving calls that power was out in that area just before 3 p.m., but couldn't point to a particular spot where a downed tree or trees had knocked out wires.

Public Works crews were out clearing debris on Fair Lawn Avenue near the Fair Lawn Arboretum just after 3 p.m., and a team of DPW workers and police coned off the busy intersection of Fair Lawn Avenue and Saddle River Road, where the traffic signal has been knocked out.

As of 3 p.m., Saddle Brook had only one reported tree down -- on Seventh Street between Outwater Lane and President Street. Crews at the scene sawed away at a large split branch to eliminate the danger of it breaking off and causing serious damage. Between 2,000 and 5,000 homes are without power in Saddle Brook as of 2:40 a.m., according to PSE&G.

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