MetEd Declares Power Restoration Complete

By Christina Georgiou

Utility company MetEd declared Tuesday that their restoration of power to those whose electricity was knocked out by Hurricane Sandy is now complete, but some in Easton and the greater Easton area are still sitting in the dark.

"Met-Ed has restored service to nearly all of its more than 270,000 customers affected by the storm," read a Tuesday afternoon press release detailing the company's efforts over the past week.

While that is a vast improvement over the original number of local customers left without power, for those that remain without, it's likely to be little comfort on a night where temperatures are predicted to fall below freezing after more than a week with no electricity.

At about 6 p.m. on Tuesday evening, eight days after the superstorm struck, there were still 224 locations in the City of Easton without service, mostly in College Hill. In Palmer Township, the number without power sat at 241.

Other municipalities were faring better and showing signs that their power outages may actually be ended for all within 24 hours, with 20 in Wilson Borough, 17 locations in Williams and 22 Forks Townships without service.

The company has said the remainder of those without power should be restored by the end of Wednesday, Nov. 7.

"In many respects, Sandy was a much more damaging storm than Irene or the 2011 October snowstorm. As an example, during this past week our crews replaced more than twice as many poles, cross arms, and transformers as we did following Irene. Sandy was a historic storm for Met-Ed and its customers," said Mike Doran, Met-Ed regional president, via the media release.

Real-time information provided by MetEd showed that power was back on for all in West Easton and Glendon boroughs.

"Our crews worked as quickly and safely as possible through our restoration plan to return service to our customers," Doran said."Most importantly, we completed that work safely. I can't thank our customers enough for their patience as we worked to recover from this historic storm; we are well aware of the inconvenience a power outage causes."

Those still without power should call 1-888-544-4877 to make sure the company is aware their location is still dark.

Wednesday update: By early afternoon, all townships were mostly restored to service, with only sporadic outages in the low double digits. In the City of Easton, 104 customer locations were without power.

Updated at 2:03 p.m. on Wednesday, November 7.

Need Supplies? Here's What's Open!

Many people are looking for essentials to tide them over until they have electric service again--which for some in Easton and the greater Easton area, may come as late as Monday, Nov. 5, MetEd announced Tuesday night.

But with the problems as widespread as they are, a lot of businesses are closed due to lack of power too.

Here's who's open and who's not:
(Tip: go shopping for supplies and gas later in the evening if you can--lines are short to nonexistent.)

Redners, 3745 Nicholas St., Palmer Township, open 24/7
All departments are open and stocked. (They have run out of the free ice and water provided by MetEd as of Wednesday morning though.)

C-Town, 250 Line St., Easton, open 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Reportedly everything normal.

Wegmans, 3791 Easton-Nazareth Hwy./Rte. 248, Lower Nazareth, open 24/7
The store is open and fully stocked. Never lost power, they have a their own generator.

Weis Markets, 3011 William Penn Highway in Palmer, open 6 a.m. to midnight.
Open, but no refrigerated or frozen foods.

Weis Markets Easton, 3825 Sullivan Trail, Forks Township
Apparently closed due to power outage.

Giant, 801 S 25th St., Palmer Township.
Apparently closed due to power outage. Reportedly open, but status of stocks and things like frozen/refrigerated foods uncertain. Gas station reportedly NOT open yet. Gas station is open as of late Thursday afternoon, and actually, the wait time wasn't bad.

Giant, 301 Town Center Blvd., Forks Township, open 24/7
Perishable selection is very limited, very long lines at gas station--over an hour wait.

Bottom Dollar Food, 2431 Butler St., Wilson Borough
Seems to be open and running on generator as of late afternoon Thursday, but the hours and situation when it comes to refrigerated/frozen items are unknown at this time. However, they are reportedly distributing 10 pound bags of ice for free to those who need it while supplies last.

Wawa, 310 Larry Holmes Drive, Easton, open 24/7
Everything is normal, busy. (Not a gas location.)

Wawa, 225 Cattell St., Easton, open 24/7
Everything is normal, busy. (Not a gas location.)

Wawa, 631 South 25th St., Palmer Township
Now open. Lines for gas as of late Thursday afternoon were very long and the parking lot extremely crowded. They did, however, have one of the best gas prices out there.

Exxon/Square One, 158 South 3rd St.,Easton
Long line for gas, does not stock kerosene. As of late Thursday afternoon, Easton Police were directing traffic to keep things moving.

Exxon/Square One, 1509 Northampton St, Wilson Borough
Apparently closed due to power outage. Now open. Somewhat crowded, but not as bad as a lot of places.

Kmart, 320 South 25th Street, Wilson Borough, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Just reopened. No frozen or refrigerated foods right now.

Target, 3835 Dryland Way (just off Easton-Nazareth Hwy./Rte. 248), Lower Nazareth, open 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Got power back on Wednesday afternoon, no frozen or refrigerated foods. Pharmacy open.

CVS, 620 Old Philadelphia Road, Easton.
Apparently closed due to power outage.

CVS, 1520 Northampton St., Easton, open 24/7
Low on some frozen and refrigerated foods, but otherwise fine.

CVS, 2467 Nazareth Road, Palmer Township.
Apparently closed due to power outage.

CVS, 215 Town Center Blvd., Forks Township, open 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday
Reopened after power outage, has not restocked refrigerated and frozen foods yet. Pharmacy open.

Turkey Hill, 55 Morgan Hill Road, Easton, open 24/7
Long line for gas, but reporting better than it was. Does not sell kerosene, but does stock propane.

Lou's Texaco, 1011 Knox Avenue, Forks Township
Apparently closed due to power outage.

Interstate Market, 480 Industrial Drive, Easton, 5 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Apparently closed due to power outage. Some reports say they're open--situation is unclear. Might be worth a shot if you're nearby.

Sunoco 1-Plus Mini Market, 3337 Freemansburg Ave., Palmer Township.
Apparently closed due to power outage. Now reported to be open.

Valero, 6597 South Delaware Drive, Easton/Raubsville.
Apparently closed due to power outage.

Rudy's and Son, 2500 Northampton St., Wilson/Palmer, open 24/7.
Long line for gas during the day. Sells propane as well.

Walmart, 3722 Easton-Nazareth Highway/Rte. 248, Lower Nazarethm open 24/7
Has power, reopened. As of mid-afternoon Wednesday, only has chicken in refrigerated/frozen section. Shelves , are reportedly somewhat bare, not sure when restocking will occur, but hopefully soon.

Rite Aid, 901 Northampton St., Easton.
Apparently closed due to power outage. Still without power as of late Thursday afternoon, but appeared to be doing business. Pharmacy status uncertain. Call them.

Rite Aid, 601 South 25th St., Palmer Township, 7 a.m. to midnight.
Just got power back. Doesn't have bottled water in gallons, but does have individual sizes. No D batteries, hopes for some by Thursday. No milk or other frozen/refrigerated foods right now. Pharmacy open.

Rite Aid, 282 Line St., Easton.
Apparently closed due to power outage.

Family Dollar, 301 Northampton St., Easton, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Open and never lost power, but stocks of everything are reportedly very low. Out of milk, eggs, D batteries, flashlights, etc. Next delivery date is Friday.

Family Dollar, 254 Line St., Easton, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Now has power, open. Out of flashlights, C & D batteries. No refrigerated or frozen foods. Hoping for new delivery soon, but doesn't have a date.

Walgreens, 2535 William Penn Highway, Palmer Township, open 24/7.
Open, no D batteries, just got more bread and milk, has frozen/refrigerated foods. Does have some small flashlights as of Wednesday afternoon.

Walgreens, 1955 Sullivan, Palmer Township, open 24/7.
Just reopened. No bread, milk, D batteries or flashlights. No frozen/refrigerated foods, but does have water. Expecting a delivery Thursday or Friday.

Easton Outdoor Company, 230 Northampton St., Easton, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday thru Thursday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday & Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, closed Monday.
Has flashlights and headlamps, getting more battery-operated lanterns Thursday. Also has camp stoves, freeze-dried foods and other camping supplies. Does not carry batteries.

Dollar Tree, 2499 Northampton St., Palmer Township.
Apparently closed due to power outage on Wednesday.

Dollar Tree, 1700 Sullivan Trail/Laneco Plaza, Forks Township, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., 'til 8 p.m. on Sunday.
Open, well stocked. Out of C and D batteries, but has smaller sizes, as well as small flashlights. Does not stock bread or frozen/refrigerated foods, but well stocked for other pantry and canned goods.

Palmer Park Mall, Rte. 248 in Palmer Township.
Currently closed due to power outage.

Restaurants and take-out

Had enough of the dark and the cold? Getting out for good meal can help a lot. Here are some options that are open:

Tic-Toc, 2510 Northampton St., Palmer Township. Open 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. weekdays. Does take out too. 610-252-6466

Antonio's Pizza, 114 South 3rd St., Easton. Take out or eat in. Italian dinners as well as great pizza. 610-253-9977

Great Wall, 390 Larry Holmes Drive,  Easton. Chinese take out, no MSG. 610-252-7700 Open 'til 10:30 p.m., 11:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

Magic Wok, 601 Northampton St.,  Easton. Chinese take out. 610-438-2083

Gino's Pizza, 349 Northampton St.,  Easton. Also has tacos and some Mexican food. 610-258-7690

Don Juan's Mexican Grill, 518 March Street  Easton. 610-438-5661.Open 11:30 to 9 p.m., noon to 7 p.m. on Sundays. Menu online.  www.donjuanmexgrill.com

All Downtown Easton restaurants are keeping their regular hours.

Morning coffee, breakfast

Angelo's, 14 N. Fourth St., Easton, open Monday thru Saturday, 7 a.m.  to 4 p.m.
Great diner breakfast, very affordable--good, but not fancy. No wifi.

Cosmic Cup Coffee Co., 520 March St., Easton, 6:30 a.m. to 5 p.m, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends.
Awesome coffee & specialty hot drinks, has wifi and outlets for charging devices.

Dunkin' Donuts, 54 Centre Square, Easton. 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Has wifi too!

Dunkin' Donuts, 2926 William Penn Highway, Palmer Township. 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Reportedly open, has wifi, though wifi status is uncertain.

Dunkin' Donuts, 2500 Nazareth Road, Palmer Township, open 24/7.
Open, has wifi.

Madame Mim's New Age Shoppe, 22 North Third St.
Reportedly offering free coffee, tea and cocoa and a warm place to rest. Be warned, they're not a coffee shop, though they are lovely people and it's a nice place to browse.

Quadrant Book Mart & Coffee House, 20 North Third St., Easton, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Full breakfast, has wifi on weekdays. Very home-ish. Good place to hang and check out the books too.

Terra Cafe, 321 Northampton St., Easton, 5:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. (sometimes later), weekends 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Good hot coffee and specialty drinks, smoothies, light menu. Has wifi.

Tic Toc Family Restaurant, 2510 Northampton St., Palmer Township.
See the food listing above for more details. Wifi uncertain, but makes a good diner breakfast.

Wawa, Wegmans--see above listings.

This list is a work in progress--check back for additions regularly!

Got information on the situation at a store, gas station, business or restaurant that could be useful? Please post it in the comments or email us to have it included in this list! Thanks!

As of Saturday, Nov. 3, we will only update this page sporadically, if at all. As electric service is being steadily restored to the area, more and more businesses are open and more are becoming fully stocked, greatly easing the situation that existed right after the storm.
Updated on Wednesday, Oct. 31 at 10:50 p.m. Partial updates again on Thursday, Nov. 1 at 5:55 p.m., on Friday, Nov. 2 at 12:21 a.m. and 1:10 a.m. and on Saturday, Nov. 3 at 2:17 p.m.
5

Emergency Management Officials Urge Public to Stay Safe

The electricity provider MetEd announced Tuesday night that they estimate the thousands of people left without electricity in the aftermath of "superstorm" Sandy will see full service restoration by Monday, Nov. 5--or Wednesday, Nov. 7 at the latest in some areas.

That's a long time to go without, and people are being forced to make do in the meantime. However, some stop-gap measures to get by without power can be dangerous--even deadly--if proper care isn't taken.

Local emergency management officials are urging the public to use common sense and exercise caution while services are being restored.

Battery-operated lights are better than candles

"Be very, very careful with candles," warned Easton Fire Chief John Bast Tuesday afternoon. "We'd rather people didn't use them at all. Battery-operated flashlights and lanterns are much safer."

But for those who must use candles, Bast offered the following advice:

• Don't fall asleep when candles are lit
• Use glass hurricane shades whenever possible
• Make sure smoke detectors are working

"Halloween is one time people are supposed to check their smoke detector batteries anyway. Now is a very good time to do so," Bast said.

With colder temperatures arriving, he noted that it might be tempting for people to try to warm up in ways that are unsafe.

"Never use a gas oven for heating," he said, adding that cooking on a grill indoors can also be deadly.

For those with generators, he offered the reminder that they must be kept outdoors and never run in a house or garage where they can create a deadly build-up of carbon monoxide fumes.

Kerosene heaters should also be approached with a great deal of caution, both because of the risk of fumes and also because of the risk of fire.

Know these things when driving in a widespread power outage

With many traffic signals inoperative due to power outages, PennDOT also offered advice to motorists via email on Tuesday.

Traffic lights that are out should be treated as four-way stops, the state transportation agency says.

For signals that are blinking, a flashing red light should be treated like a stop sign; a blinking yellow light has right of way, but motorists should proceed with caution through the intersection.

Also, last month a new state law went into effect that imposes stiff penalties on motorists who ignore “road closed” or other safety warning signs and devices.

 

Under the law, motorists who past traffic control devices closing a road or highway due to hazardous conditions will have two points added to their driving records and can be fined up to $250.

If the violation results in a need for emergency responders to be called, the fine increases to between $250 and $500, and violators will be held liable for repaying the costs of the emergency response.

 

With the extent of damage the storm caused to electrical lines and trees, it may take work crews some time to clear dangerous situations, and some damaged lines and trees may still come crashing down.

 

Downed trees and power lines are dangerous

Met-Ed warns that touching a live power line can cause serious injury or death. You can't tell by looking whether a line is "hot" or not. Even if a downed line isn't actively sparking, always assume it is carrying electricity.

The company further states:

• Immediately report downed wires to 888-544-4877 or your local police or fire department by calling 911.
• Never go near a downed power line, even if you think it's no longer carrying electricity.
• Stay more than 30 feet away from downed power lines, don't walk or drive near or over a downed line, and watch out for anything touching the line.
• If a wire falls on a vehicle, passengers should stay inside until help arrives.
• Don't drive over downed power lines.
• If a downed line is near water - even a small puddle - keep well away.
• Keep children and pets away from any wires.
• Be careful not to stand under damaged tree limbs or power lines. Tree limbs can become weakened during a storm but not fall until several hours or days later. The same can be true for damaged power lines or poles.
• Unplug appliances like refrigerators and freezers, and sensitive electronic equipment like TVs and computers, so that they won't overload when power is restored.
• When operating a generator, always disconnect the power coming into your home. Otherwise, power from your generator could be sent back onto the utility lines, creating a hazardous situation for utility workers. The proper generator should be selected and installed by a qualified electrician.
• Stay out of flooded basements, even if the power is off. Stay away from the breaker box if it's in a flooded basement.

Avoid food poisoning 

The lack of electricity also presents difficulties when it comes to food storage.

Most refrigerated foods become unsafe to consume after being kept at 40 degree temperatures for more than two hours--that's about four hours in the average refrigerator without power when the door's been kept closed.

Obviously, with the expectation electricity won't be restored to the local area until next week, that's a problem.

Still, some foods that are commonly kept cold are safe to eat for longer, says www.foodsafety.gov , including:

• Hard cheeses, such as cheddar, Colby, Swiss, Parmesan, provolone, Romano
• Processed cheese, such as American
• Butter and margarine
• Fruit juices, opened canned fruits, fresh fruits, coconut, raisins, dried fruits, candied fruits, dates
• Peanut butter
• Jelly, relish, taco sauce, mustard, catsup, olives, pickles
• Worcestershire, soy, barbecue, hoisin sauces
• Opened vinegar-based dressings
• Bread, rolls, cakes, muffins, quick breads, tortillas, and breakfast foods--waffles, pancakes, bagels
• Pies, fruit 
• Fresh mushrooms, herbs, spices
• Raw vegetables

Nearly all other refrigerated foods should be discarded, especially highly perishable ones like meat. You can’t always rely on appearance or odor to determine whether food is safe.

Remember, "If in doubt, throw it out."

For more detailed information about food safety during an emergency, click here.