KENT—At 5 p.m., the mood was nervous. Weather forecasters were predicting strong storms and possible tornadoes through 5:15 p.m. and area residents were being advised to seek shelter immediately.
“No tornado so far, but the alerts continue,” posted Charles Goldberg on Kent’s Facebook community group.
Then the storm came. First Selectman Marty Lindenmayer said there were happily no injuries or personal property damage, but that many trees were broken or toppled over, sending crews out to clear roads. By Monday noon, all the roads were again open, and power had been restored.
Lindenmayer said cleaning up after the storm was an example of community cooperation. Public Works Foreman Rick Osborne and his crew cooperated with the Kent Volunteer Fire Department in the project and even civilians pitched in to pull branches and trees from the roadways.
Lindemayer said that no wires were down across local roads so local workers could tackle the work. Where wires are down, Eversource crews must make sure all power is off before work can begin. “The firefighters are trained to look for wires,” which helps the town crew, the first selectman said.
It has been a season of disruptive storms in Kent. One whipped through only two days before Sunday’s drama and another hit Kent last night. “We’ve been getting a lot of high winds coming from the southwest and passing through,” said Lindenmayer. “Eversource has been excellent in its support in getting power back on.”
