Parks Supervisor: Flooding 'Worst in My 32 Years'

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 said that water is just about level with the Morlot Avenue Bridge, making it impassable, and that the Maple Avenue Bridge was also closed the last he heard.

Parts of River Road and Wagaraw Road, from Maple Avenue to Lincoln Avenue are entirely under water.

Construction has closed lanes at the intersection of Fair Lawn Avenue and Plaza Road where Verizon is making phone service repairs, but traffic there is moving at a moderate pace.

Tuesday, 5:30 p.m.

Latest Passaic River flood gauge reading is down slightly to 14 feet from its 14.19 feet cresting point this morning. The river isn't expected to get below "major stage" flood level (9 feet) until early Friday morning.

Tuesday, 4:20 p.m.

The borough has canceled paper and cardboard recycling collection for the remainder of the week. If you've placed your paper/cardboard at the curb, the borough has asked residents to remove it.

There is no make up collection for this material. Residents may drop it off at the recycling center or wait two weeks for the next paper collection. 

Yard waste collection will continue due to the large volume being placed out. 

Tuesday, 4 p.m.

American Red Cross Clean Up Kits are available, while supplies last, to residents by calling Emergency Management at 201-794-5390. The information also appears on the borough's website, along with a Clean-Up Handbook.

Tuesday, 3 p.m.

Fair Lawn Schools Superintendent Bruce Watson said he plans to have Memorial Middle School ready to open for the first day of class next Tuesday.

Memorial Park suffered extensive flooding over night and this morning, and the school is entirely surrounded by water. Watson said that there is four feet of water in the school's boiler room, but that no water has entered the hallways or classrooms. 

The water will be pumped from the boiler room as soon as possible, and a team will be coming to the school tomorrow to make a health and safety assessment. If the school is deemed clear, Watson said he will open it next Tuesday, the first scheduled day of school.

Tuesday, 1 p.m.

Fear of potential gas leakage has many residents asking Fair Lawn's rescue squad to shut their gas lines off, rescue squad captain Andrew Flax said.

PSE&G workers have been traveling with the rescue squad going door-to-door to record which residents have elected to have their gas and/or electricity shut off. Flax said he had received frequent reports of residents smelling odors in their homes who then requested their gas lines be shut off as a precautionary measure.

Flax said the rescue team had been taking residents from their homes by boat since last night. He estimated that the total number of emergency boat rescuses performed by his team and the fire department was between 20 and 30.

He said some of the worst devastation he'd seen was on Wagaraw Road and on 2nd Street.

Tuesday, 11:30 a.m.

Water levels rose preciptiously over night and are wreaking havoc on Passaic-side houses. Parks supervisor Bob Young said it's the worst flooding he's seen in his 32 years in the department. 

Flood waters at Memorial Park have reached more than halfway up the green fencing that surrounds the park and water is spilling about 100 feet past the park's entrance gates and into the street. Yesterday, water had not even reached the entrance gates.

Streets both north and south of Berdan -- but not Berdan --have been ravaged by flood waters. Young said that water is spewing from different parts of the river. Berdan is blocked off but it has not flooded, Young said, because it sits sandwiched between the two areas where the Passaic is flooding from, so waters from both ends are convgering on Berdan but have not reached it.

At 2-08 Bellair Street, Alexis Burke's home hasn't flooded, but water extends into her driveway. Her neighbor one door to the west and those beyond, toward the river, have not been as fortunate. Those who did not evacuate earlier are trapped in their homes.

Burke criticized the borough for its lack of communication. She said she did not receive any advance warning that more flooding might occur overnight, although her neighbors across the street did get a reverse-911 warning call.

"There's a disconnect between the management of Fair Lawn and its citizens," said Burke, who has lived on the street for 13 years and had never previously seen flood water reach her driveway. "They're not letting us as citizens make informed decisions."

She said she likely would not have evacuated even if warned, because she'd want to mitigate damages, but said she wishes the borough had at least informed her what she might be facing when she woke up this morning.

Burke said that despite cones cordoning off the street from traffic, cars have been driving through the flood waters and creating tidal waves that have driven water into people's houses.

To further prevent traffic from crashing through the flooded streets, residents have used their own cars to block the way and discourage oncomers.

Tuesday, 6:30 a.m.

Almost all of Fair Lawn has its power back this morning. PSE&G now reporting that between 1 and 500 homes in Fair Lawn are without power. 

As of last night, three trees caught in power lines were still down in the borough, blocking roadways at 5th Street, 17th Street and Williams Street. They will be handled by PSE&G.

I'll be out later this morning check on each of these locations to see if the trees have been removed and report back.

Tuesday, 5:30 a.m.

The Passaic River gauge nearest Fair Lawn measured the river's water level at 14.16 feet. The river is forecast to crest at 8:00 a.m. Tuesday at 14.2 feet, according to the National Weather Service. NWS expects Passaic water levels to remain above major flood level until Friday, Sept 2.