Many in southeastern Connecticut woke up still without power Wednesday after powerful winds from Tropical Storm Isaias brought down trees and wires, creating widespread power outages in the region.

Nearly all of Eversource’s customers in Old Lyme still were without power as of 8 a.m. At that time, outages impacted 5,465 homes in town, 99% of the company’s customers. 

The same was true in Lyme where 1,326 of the company’s 1,345 customers still had no power.

In East Lyme, outages affected more than 3,400 homes, as of 8 a.m. More than 2,700 homes in Montville also were affected.

In Ledyard, nearly 29% of Eversource’s customers were still without power at that time. As of Wednesday morning, Bill Library and the Ledyard Senior Center, normally offered as charging and cooling centers for residents without power, also were without power; Gales Ferry Library, however, was open.

Eversource said Tuesday night it was experiencing issues with its automated outage reporting system, but the problem was reportedly fixed later in the evening and was working again Wednesday morning.

Road closures

Many roads in Ledyard were still closed Wednesday morning, including Route 214 between Route 12 and Avery Hill Road. Police advised those who need to travel between Ledyard Center and Route 12 to take Route 117 to Route 2A.

Route 163 in Montville at the intersection with Route 82 was still closed Wednesday morning due to a tree down across the road.

In East Lyme, North Bridebrook Road was closed and Gurley Road was blocked with no access as of 8:45 a.m.  Police Chief Michael Finkelstein said by email Wednesday morning that 102 wires and trees in total were reported down on roadways as a result of the storm.

Gov. Ned Lamont has advised residents to use the website cttravelsmart.org to check for major road closures.

Norwich gets help from Mass. utilities

Norwich Public Utilities reported that about 1,000 customers would remain without power by the end of Wednesday, down from a peak of more than 6,500 Tuesday night and 4,000 Wednesday morning.

NPU is receiving assistance of four mutual aid crews and a supervisor through the New England Public Power Association to help restore power. These crews are from Rowley Municipal Lighting, Marblehead Municipal Light Department and Groton Electric Light Department, all from Massachusetts, with a supervisor from Groton Utilities in Connecticut.

NPU also has hired private contractors to assist with smaller, individual service restoration Wednesday and Thursday.

Later Wednesday, NPU crews will be focusing on Boswell Avenue and Sandy Lane, Canterbury Turnpike and Case Street, Yantic Lane and Plain Hill and White Plains roads.

“We understand that customers who have been out of service for several hours can be frustrated with our restoration progress,” Riley said in a press release on the outages. “But it is important to understand that we prioritize this work based on the largest number of customers who will return to service by our addressing an outage.”

NPU crews spent 16 hours from Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday morning removing trees and tree limbs from power lines and city streets and working to make the system safe in dozens of locations to allow restoration work to begin.

NPU cautioned that any downed wire should be assumed to be energized and a potentially lethal hazard. Report any downed wires to 911 immediately.

Preston Town Hall closed Wednesday

Preston First Selectwoman Sandra Allyn-Gauthier said the town had widespread power outages from downed trees. A felled tree on Route 2 knocked out power to that area, including Town Hall, which had no power and was closed Wednesday. Route 2 is reopened, Allyn-Gauthier said.

Town crews are out with the Preston Fire Department clearing trees where no wires involved.

“I’ve been in touch with Eversource to update problem spots,” Allyn-Gauthier said.

She said there has been minimal structural damage reported in town, including a tree that fell onto a car and one house with tree damage.

Depending on how long it will take to restore power, Preston officials are considering opening a school as an emergency shelter or cooling center and to provide water to residents without power.

This story will be updated.