As of 10 p.m. Thursday evening, almost 70 percent of Brookfield residents — or 5,400 households — were without power due to the storm, according to Connecticut Light and Power (CL&P), and a “vast majority” of the town’s roadways were cluttered or impassable according to the Brookfield Police Department.
Brookfield was one of the worst areas hit by power outages at that time, with only Eastford, Warren and Woodstock breaching 70 percent.
Meanwhile, Brookfield’s Public Works employees and both the Candlewood Fire Company and main Brookfield Company were out trying to clear roadways of fallen trees and other debris as a wave of calls continued to come in late into the evening.
“We’re still trying to assess the situation,” Superintendent of Highways John Plummer said at 9:30 p.m. “It’s pretty bad.”
Plummer said his full staff — eight employees — would be working into the night to clear the roads along with the volunteer emergency personnel.
Most of the major arteries in Brookfield were fully shut down or partially closed except for Federal Road, which only had a tree down near Burger King, with one lane cordoned off.
Along with the main roads, “The vast majority of our secondary’s” were shut down, according to Brookfield Police. Many of those roads were not fully shut down, however almost every road in town had a tree or large branch or power lines blocking at least one lane of travel.
Communications have been affected by the storm, as well, and emergency officials are not sure whether this was a strong thunderstorm or if actual tornados touched down in the area.
The last tornado to hit Brookfield was May 31, 2002.
List of Current Road Closures as of 10PM:
Route 25 — Four Corners to Long Meadow Hill Road; Brookfield Center to Newtown
Route 133 — Brookfield Center to Bridgewater
Candlewood Lake Road — Closed from Candlewood Shores north
North Mountain Road — Laurel Hill to Candlewood Lake Road
North Pleasant Rise
Hop Brook Road
Sunset Hill
Long Meadow Hill Road — Route 25 to Brookfield High School
Intersection of Orchard Street and Federal Road
Old New Milford Road
Ironworks — Long Meadow Hill Road to Old Middle
Intersection of Candlewood Lake Road and Nabby Road
