It’s been a week now since Irene became the first hurricane to make landfall in New Jersey in 108 years. She swept through Fair Lawn last Sunday morning, dumping rain, uprooting trees and outing power lines along the way. But more devastating than Irene’s initial jaunt through town were the slow-rising Passaic flood waters that followed her. On Tuesday morning, at their highest point, Passaic River water levels measured 14.19 feet according to the flood gauge nearest Fair Lawn – more than five feet above “major” flood level. The one and only time levels have risen above Tuesday’s cresting …
Residents of Fair Lawn eager to display their photo chops and share their Irene memories can do so here. Email me at zak.koeske@patch.com with your pictures.
Hurricane Irene struck the state last week, and dealt catastrophic, and sometimes fatal damage to communities across New Jersey. In Lawrence, rescuers found the body of a man on Tuesday who was sucked down a manhole. Cesar Ortiz, 50, was trying to clear floodwater from his landscaping supply company. Princeton EMT Michael Kenwood was laid to rest in Paramus on Wednesday after he was killed during an attempted water rescue during Hurricane Irene. First responders from across the state paid tribute to Kenwood, an East Windsor resident. Kenwood died in Princeton, while he and another EMT were …
The first day of school for Memorial Middle School students will come a week or more later than the rest of the district this year, superintendent Bruce Watson confirmed Thursday. Watson said water was up to the ceiling of the boiler room and into parts of the auditorium when he inspected the building Wednesday. The good news, he said, was that it had not penetrated hallways, classrooms or the school's gym. Watson said he sent out automated phone calls to Memorial School parents last night informing them of his decision to delay opening the school, and will continue sending daily status …
Fair Lawn rescue squad members flanked by PSE&G workers traveled door-to-door Tuesday through some of the town’s most flood-ravaged areas, shutting off gas lines for residents who complained of odors and potential gas leaks. Though not mandatory, many residents requested the service shutdown procedure for both power and gas lines because gas leaks can occur when water seeps in and puts out pilot lights. As residents prepare to go back on the grid, emergency management coordinator Ira Marks has requested that all homeowners call PSE&G to come out and perform a thorough check of appliances to …
The Fair Lawn public library re-opened Wednesday. It had been closed since Monday due to a roof leak. Library director Tim Murphy said that for years the building has had a leaky roof that is getting progressively worse with time. Heavy rain from Hurricane Irene this past weekend posed the greatest permeation problem yet. By Saturday, rain water had already begun seeping through the library’s upper roof and into its D Level, where reference items are kept. Library workers put out a bucket and tarp in preparation of Sunday’s storm, but were nonetheless overwhelmed when Irene blew through that …
A Fair Lawn man inspecting his roof for storm-damage slipped and fell to his death Tuesday, Fair Lawn Police Sgt. Richard Schultz confirmed. Rafi Chehirian, 59, of Saddle River Road, had climbed a ladder to his roof to check for storm-related damage when he apparently lost his balance and fell to the ground. Polce arrived to the scene around 1 p.m., where they found Chehirian motionless on the ground in his backyard. Officers applied first aid with assistance from Valley Hospital paramedics and the Fair Lawn Ambulance Squad. Despite their efforts, Chehirian succumbed to his injuries. …
Wednesday, 7:15 a.m. As of 8:25 p.m. Tuesday, flooding in both directions on NJ-20 between Broadway and Fair Lawn Avenue Bridge in Paterson had closed all lanes until further notice. To this point, the NJDOT commuter website has yet to provide any further notice. Make of that what you will. Wednesday, 5:30 a.m. The Passaic River gauge at Little Falls was down about a foot from where it crested yesterday morning. Water levels will continue receding for the rest of the week, but should not go below 'major' flood stage (9 feet) until 7 a.m. or so on Friday.
Tuesday 7 p.m. Flooding and road repairs have stalled traffic around Fair Lawn this evening, as residents make the rush hour commute home. "The traffic situation is kind of a mess in town," said Sgt. James Krizek, who asked that drivers exercise caution when driving near flooded streets. Throughout the day, drivers have regularly been seen cutting through coned-off areas that are supposed to be off-limits due to flooding on Fair Lawn's western edge. Krizek said that because Route 208 is backed up due to flooding in towns north of Fair Lawn, traffic has come to a standstill at points. He …
County leaders took to the streets Monday to talk with weary residents and begin assessing the scope of Irene’s destruction, as some Bergen towns braced for more flooding and thousands remained without power across the area. Bergen County Executive Kathleen Donovan, emergency management head Dwane Razzetti and county freeholders toured hard-hit areas in Lyndurst, Rutherford, Fair Lawn, Lodi and Hillsdale. They were met by frustrated and angry residents along the way, most notably in Lyndhurst, which has seen perhaps the worst flooding in its history. “I can’t stay in my house and I have a …
Even as Irene moved out of the area, Bergen County officials warned of rising waters and the possibility of heavy flooding through Monday. A flood warning remained in effect for the area until Monday night, according to the National Weather Service. Flood waters were being blamed for knocking out power to several Bergen towns. A power substation in Hillsdale was "underwater,” said Jeanne Baratta, chief of staff in the county executive’s office. The substation flood brought down power in towns including Ho-Ho-Kus, Washington Township, Old Tappan, Paramus and Ridgewood, Baratta. Another …
Well that was quick. A towering maple that toppled into a busy borough intersection early Sunday morning in the opening salvo from Hurricane Irene is already gone, restoring normal traffic there after more than 36 hours. Multiple vehicles from the Glen Rock Department of Public Works — dump trucks, a utility truck with a Morbark chipper attached, and a huge Case excavator — rolled out onto the asphalt at the snarled intersection of Maple and Ackerman avenues just before 3 p.m. on Monday and got to work clearing out the leaves and smaller branches from a massive maple tree that fell from the …
The tornado watch has been lifted, but Hurricane Irene's onslaught continues throughout the Jersey Shore on Sunday. Damaging winds and heavy rains associated with the storm eventually led to thousands of customers being left without electricity in Monmouth and Ocean counties. As of about 3 a.m., there were nearly 50,000 JCP&L customers without power in Monmouth and 22,000 without power in Ocean, plus at least 12,000 Atlantic City Electric customers in Ocean without power as well. Officials said to expect those numbers to rise significantly as the most powerful part of the storm moved though …
9:30 a.m. Water level of Passaic River at Little Falls: 8.63 feet (Fair Lawn floods at 9.8 feet) Water level of Saddle River at Lodi: 9.89 feet (Fair Lawn floods at 8 feet). 9:10 a.m. River Road is closed at the Elmwood Park border and Wagaraw Road. Emergency management coordinator Ira Marks said that by early tomorrow morning, he expects the Passaic River to be in people's homes. By Tuesday, Marks said he expects the Passaic to be some 5 feet higher than it currently sits. If that happens, it would be the worst flood in Fair Lawn since 1903, when the area was farmland. 9:00 a.m. Arcadia Road…
Fair Lawn is all system go, emergency management coordinator Ira Marks said Saturday evening.Necessary precautions have been taken and borough departments are geared up and ready to respond when called.Beginning at 7 p.m. Saturday, ambulances went on standby and will wait on call for the duration of the storm, Marks said. Fire and rescue workers will also be standing by to react at a moment’s notice, and the police are up to full staff and prepared to handle emergencies.Marks said he spent most of his Saturday on the phone answering questions from residents. While he said it mostly had been a…
North Jersey residents are expected to wake up Sunday to an angry Irene pounding on their door. As powerful Irene tore her way up the eastern seaboard Saturday, residents from Cape May to Mahwah prepared for what could be the worst storm to hit the state in 50 years. “The tracking of the storm is ominous for New Jersey,” Gov. Chris Christie warned residents during an afternoon briefing. Evidence of the dire predictions surrounding Irene was easy to see around Bergen and Passaic counties, as worried residents swarmed gas stations, supermarkets and any place that sells batteries. Sunday …
Fair Lawn officials in every borough department have been preparing for Hurricane Irene all week. The vehicles have been fueled and the generators tested. Emergency equipment has been checked and police, fire and rescue squads are briefed and ready to go. All we can do now is sit back and wait for our Sunday guest. There won’t be an evacuation. The way Fair Lawn’s coordinator of emergency management Ira Marks sees it, you’ve got to take what you’re dealt and roll with the punches. You can’t stop the water. Marks said he’s concerned, as everyone should be, about the damage Irene could do to …
Some of the state's most hazardous facilities and toxic sites are located in flood-prone or low-lying areas, putting them at considerable risk to Hurricane Irene's wrath, the NJ Sierra Club said Friday. "We are concerned that many important parts of our infrastructure as well as many hazardous sites are in harm’s way," Sierra Club head Jeff Tittel said. "This hurricane could do a tremendous amount of damage to critical infrastructure and hazardous sites and facilities. This could be a natural disaster with the potential to be an environmental disaster as well." The group said that millions of…
