Evidence of the power of Mother Nature’s winds are evident in this photo taken on Mendon Center Road between Route 251 and Clover Street last week. Photo by Peter Carosa
It is said the month of March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. March certainly roared like a lion on March 8 as winds of up to 81 miles an hour whipped through the area.
The wild winds uprooted many trees, knocked out power to many area residents and temporarily blocked numerous roads in the area.
In Lima, things were not too bad as Lima Town Supervisor Pete Yendell said that National Grid had done a great job of trimming trees around most of the electric poles. He was not aware of any major damage in the town or any electric outages.
In the village of Honeoye Falls, there was very little damage beyond some small trees and limbs being down and electrical outages which affected parts of the village, said Mayor Rick Milne.
In the town of Mendon, numerous trees and wires came down in the wind. On Wednesday evening (March 8), wires came down on the Pittsford Mendon Center Road at Pond Road but electrical power was restored there on Sunday (March 12). Pond Road had two poles with damage, one broken at the base with the top snapped off. Mendon Center Road was also closed between Clover Street and Route 251 due to trees dangling over the roadway. Stoney Ridge was without power until Sunday and Amann Road residents had their power restored on Saturday (March 11).
Mendon Town Supervisor John Moffitt stated in a press release that the town highway department conducts a year-round tree trimming program which mitigated some of the effects. However, with some residents facing a cold weekend without heat, Moffitt set up a community generator sharing program and several residents were able to utilize the program and keep warm until power was restored. The town also opened the Mendon Community Center as a warming center, staffed by town board members and Moffitt.
“Thank you to everyone who was willing to lend a helping hand in the community generator sharing program,” Moffitt wrote. “Together, we were able to minimize the number of homes without power and help neighbors in need. As we look forward to storm clean-up, the town will offer brush pickup starting April 25. This should give residents time to collect their brush and get it out to the road for pickup. Thank you as well to the RG&E and National Grid linemen, our fire departments and EMS, our town highway department and all the residents who checked on neighbors, loaned generators and generally looked after one another.”
Pittsford was hard-hit with numerous road closures, including South Main Street in the village between Rand Place and Jefferson Road, Rand Place in the village between Jefferson Road and Elmbrook, Route 64 between Cranston Road and Jordan Road, East Avenue at San Rafael Drive, Golf Avenue at Monroe Country Club and Fairport Road at Alpine Drive. Most of the roads were back open by Sunday. In addition, significant areas of the town lost power. The senior center and library were used as warming shelters, stated Pittsford Town Supervisor William Smith. Barker Road Middle School was open as an overnight shelter for residents.
In Rush, there were roads closed temporarily on March 8, according to an email from Town Supervisor Cathleen Frank. These included East River Road, Telephone Road, Rush-West Rush Road, Honeoye Falls Five Points Road and Stoney Brook Road. Power outages were also experienced by residents.
In Scottsville, there were road closures and power outages with lots of trees down. As of Friday, Mayor Paul Gee said that there was only minor damage reported to homes within the village. The only area still without power as of Friday were residents on Oatka Place and Scott Crescent in the village. He said debris pickup will be worked on by the village’s Department of Public Works and praised their work along with that of the Scottsville Fire Department.
In Wheatland, the town highway garage lost most of its roof as a result of the storm. There were also power outages along with phone lines being down, stated Wheatland Town Supervisor Linda Dobson in an email. The Mumford Fire Department, under Chief Chapman, provided a warming spot for residents at that end of the town. The Scottsville Fire Department, under Chief Brown, provided a location for town, village and Wheatland-Chili school officials to meet and coordinate efforts to keep residents safe and informed. Both fire departments were also kept busy pumping basements and securing roads and the Scottsville and Mumford Fire Auxiliaries took turns feeding the highway crews. The Town Municipal Building senior center was opened as a warming shelter with senior center staff, under the direction of Michele Adair, securing pizzas and providing coffee and punch. Dobson knew of one village resident who had a tree fall on their car and a town resident who had a tree hit their house.
“I have nothing but praise for National Grid,” Dobson wrote. “I am also thankful for the responsiveness of our emergency workers, municipal staff and school administrators. Within the next several weeks, officials will sit down, assess our work and set an improved plan in motion to meet the next emergency.”
