CL&P crews have been working around the clock so with luck, more people will wake up with heat, light, and power on Thursday morning!
The following information was the most current available for East Lyme, Old Lyme, and Lyme as of 10 p.m. Wednesday night. The town of East Lyme's Public Safety Facebook page and the town of Old Lyme's Emergency Operations facebook page offers updates on new developments throughout the day.
Safety First: There are still downed power lines, debris, and obstructions on the road. Please exercise caution while driving and assume that any power line, downed or otherwise, is live. Power lines can be reenergized by generators so don’t touch them!
Power to traffic lights in the center of Old Lyme has been restored but many traffic lights are still not working. If you see a light is down, treat it like a stop sign and never assume you have the right of way.
Be very careful with generators, which can give off dangerous carbon monoxide gas. A number of people in East Lyme have had to be treated for carbon monoxide poisoning, First Selectman Paul Formica said.
Emergency services from Old Lyme and Lyme have made the rounds of residents they know may be in need of services and done wellness checks. If you have a neighbor who you think may need help, do stop by and say hello.
What’s Closed and What’s Open
Schools Closed: Lyme-Old Lyme Schools will be closed for the rest of the week and all school activities have been canceled. East Lyme Schools remain closed on Thursday and all school activities have been canceled. East Lyme High School and East Lyme Middle School have power, however, and power was being restored to Flanders Elementary School Wednesday night.
Town Meetings Canceled: All meetings have been canceled for Old Lyme for the remainder of the week. Please call the Town Hall at (860) 434-1605 ext. 212 if you have any questions. Lyme and East Lyme Town Halls had been closed this week due to lack of power and meetings are canceled. They will reopen once power is restored.
State: State Parks and state offices are open.
Back in Business
In East Lyme: All the businesses in the Flanders Four Corners area, on Flanders Road from the high school to Tires Plus and going north on Route 161 are open, including motels, gas stations, Stop & Shop, restaurants and coffee shops.
In Old Lyme: All stores on Halls Road and Boston Post Road should be open today. Big Y Supermarket, EZ Minimart (RT 156 and Hartford Ave.), Laysville Hardware, Coffee’s Country Market (Town Woods Road and Boston Post Road) and Citgo Gas have all been open since Tuesday.
In Lyme: The General Store in Hamburg is open.
Life’s Necessities
Overnight Shelter: The regional Red Cross emergency shelter which had been based at East Lyme Middle School on Society Road in East Lyme is moving today to the East Lyme Community Center, 41 Society Road (next door to the Middle School). The number of people using this shelter has decreased (for instance, there were just five people of Old Lyme there last night). The shelter will remain open to both people and pets. Food, water, and charging stations are also available.
Respite Shelters: The Lymes’ Senior Center is open as a respite center from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. for Old Lyme and Lyme residents, offering meals to those without power and residents with special needs. (Most businesses and restaurants have now reopened so only those without power will be offered meals.) Bottled water and MREs (Meals Ready To Eat) are still being provided to all. Power is available for recharging cell phones and computers. The cable is back on TV but there’s no landline phone and intermittent Internet connectivity. There are no showers at this facility.
Water and Septic: There is no risk of contamination of East Lyme town water but well water is likely to be contaminated by flooding, so use bottled water until wells have been tested for safety.
Point O’ Woods waterworks and Cross Lane well station, which are operated by Connecticut Water, are operating fully on emergency generator power.
Contamination is a problem for Old Lyme wells in areas that were flooded. Information and guidance regarding contaminated water sources are available at the Town Hall Health Department at 860-434-1605.
Old Lyme is also experiencing septic problems which may take some time to rectify.
Food, Water, and Ice:
- MRE meals and bottled water can be picked up by East Lyme residents at the Waterford Public Safety complex, 1000 Hartford Turnpike, (Route 85) in Waterford.
- Lyme and Old Lyme residents can pick up five-pound bags of ice from Old Lyme Middle School. Potable water is available in Old Lyme at all three fire stations and the police department.
- Bottled water and MREs (Meals Ready To Eat) are still being provided to all Lyme and Old Lyme residents at the Lymes Senior Center on Town Woods Road.
- In Lyme, Hadlyme and Hamburg Fire Stations are open 6:00 am to 8:00 pm for water (bring your own containers), showers (bring own towels/toiletries), bottled water, and toilets. Residents may recharge electronic devices as well.
Charging: East Lyme Parks and Recreation activity room at the Community Center is open for people as a charging station for cell phones and electronic devices. As of Wednesday, the Community Center was operating on generator power and the library was not open, but that may change if the power situation changes on Thursday.
Garbage:
In East Lyme: Normal trash and recycling schedules resume today for East Lyme. If you missed your recycling day this week, don’t worry all recycling will be picked up townwide next week. You can also take trash to the East Lyme transfer station, which is staying open until dark for the rest of the week.
In Old Lyme: Garbage and recycling pickups resumed Wednesday. Shoreline Sanitation hopes to be caught up with their routes by Friday. The Old Lyme Transfer Station is open for normal hours this week: 7:45 a.m. to 3:45 p.m.
From Monday Nov. 5 thru Saturday Nov. 17 the Transfer Station will be open Monday through Saturday 7:45 a.m. to 5 p.m. There will be no charge to residents for Hurricane Sandy debris but there will be the usual charge for leaves and no hazardous waste, no biological waste, and no rolloffs will be accepted.
In Lyme: Trash pick up (normally scheduled for Tuesday and Thursday) will be resume Thursday, November 1. For an emergency pickup, please contact Jansky’s Rubbish Removal at (860) 304-3537. Please check at the information table at the Hamburg Fire Station prior to traveling to the landfill to make sure it is open and find out the hours of operations.
Communications
In Old Lyme cable is functioning in most areas and so are landlines. Cell/wireless: Verizon is fully functional for both, ATT and Sprint voice services are functional.
Lyme is having some difficulties with communications, although that’s not overly unusual significantly, on Wednesday the Emergency Operations Center located at the Hamburg Fire Station was incommunicado. Residents who are having communication difficulties are advised to go to the information table located at the Hamburg Fire Station at 213 Hamburg Road.
