Storm, heavy rains leaves many in Suffolk still recovering from downed trees, outages

Rachel Karmel was teaching a student a songwriting lesson at her in-home studio on Monday evening when the room fell dark. Heavy rain was falling, and water was dripping into her Hampton Bays home through a leak in the roof. 

“So right when her lesson started ... bam, the lights went out,” she recounted.

Karmel is among the many East End residents who felt the impact of the region’s recent weather extremes, including a heat wave that sent temperatures into the 90s, winds in the 70-80 mph range, thunderstorms, and heavy rain that left thousands without power.

Now, many of those residents are picking up the pieces after hundreds of fallen trees have blocked roadways or hit homes and cars. Weather-related power outages shut down businesses and left many in the dark. Tuesday evening, PSEG Long Island reported that blackouts had dwindled to 470 customers Islandwide, after the utility said employees worked 16-hour shifts to restore power.

“Winds of that nature are dangerous, because they can bring down trees and power lines and all kinds of things,” said Jim Connolly, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

Richard Lenzer, a homeowner in Riverhead, had already cut down many of the trees in his front yard after Superstorm Sandy, fearing another dangerous storm might cause further damage. Lenzer didn’t lose power or any trees this weekend, but said some of his neighbors had trees come down.

“The winds were extreme,” Lenzer said, later adding: "We were uncertain what was going to happen.”

A tree came down onto power lines in the middle of the street, about a block from Lenzer’s house, and he said it was not removed until Tuesday morning. The road was completely blocked by the tree, and Lenzer said neighbors diverted traffic.

“The tree was on the wires. The wires were three feet off the ground, holding the tree out,” Lenzer said.

Karmel, who also teaches voice, piano and violin, was able to let in outdoor light in the studio space and teach on a piano until power was restored about an hour later.

Still, the storm might have an ongoing impact on her business because she travels to teach lessons in places like Shirley and Bellport, where outages may have caused cancellations. 

“I hopefully won't be losing the money,” she said. “It's just going to obviously make my life a little bit more hectic.”

In the aftermath of the storm, several hard-hit Long Island towns were working to recover. PSEG Long Island said on its website that extreme heat from July 1 through Saturday affected 20,000 customers, who, on average, received service within two hours.

The thunderstorms and heavy winds on Saturday took down roughly 400 trees and affected 32,000 customers — most of whom have had their power returned, the utility said.

An outage map from the utility showed that hot spots for outages were in Riverhead and Southampton, particularly around Hampton Bays.

In Southampton, Ryan Murphy, the town’s public safety and emergency management administrator, said some residents were without power from late Saturday night until Monday.

In the 36 to 48 hours after the storm, many of Southampton’s roadways were impacted, with some becoming impassable or operating at reduced capacity due to downed trees and tree limbs, he said.

Town of Riverhead Highway Superintendent Mike Zaleski said the town will undergo a slow cleanup following the storms. The town has said it will reschedule its Alive on 25 Summer Block Party, originally set for Thursday. Held on Main Street, the festival features live music and highlights local restaurants.

Zaleski estimated roughly 50 large limbs or trees were downed by the storm. Half of which, he said, are in wires. 

“We’re still in the process of cleaning up … no matter what, we’re going to get the job done,” Zaleski said. “If we have to reach into reserves, we will. ”

Flanders resident Martin Croke had been playing soothing music on a wireless speaker in his master bedroom so his dog wouldn’t be spooked by the fireworks on the Fourth of July. But the symphony of booms soon turned into a rolling thunderstorm that evening.

He lost power at 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, he said. It wasn't restored until 2:30 p.m. on Monday.

“It was an unbelievable transition,” Croke recounted, referring to how quickly the power went out.

To survive the outage, Croke used a $300 generator from Walmart to power his refrigerator and a chest freezer that holds fresh dog food. Still, Croke, who has lived in the same home for more than 20 years, said he could not recount a time when he has experienced such a protracted blackout.

“I’ve never had a power outage this long, even when we had, you know, Irene and Superstorm Sandy,” Croke said.