Power Restored To Nearly 4,000 In Sparta Township Late Thursday

Within minutes of an alert disseminated by the National Weather Service in Mount Holly on Wednesday evening, the already cloudy skies darkened and a fast-moving thunderstorm swept across northern New Jersey. Coasting on a line from Green Pond, near Kinnelon, to Lake Telemark at just before 5 PM early Wednesday evening, pedestrians hurrying towards cover in those parts could not know that just moments ago, the powerful storm had wreaked havoc on power lines and trees miles away in Sparta.

The late Wednesday thunderstorm caused extensive damage, power outages, and street closures across Sparta, according to police. Hickory Trail was closed due to downed power lines, and so were Cheyenne Trail and parts of West Short Trail. East Shore closed near Oak Parkway. Alpine Trail was closed near Mountain Drive. Police warned of fallen wires, announced to residents and passersby that they should avoid closed streets and treat all wires as if they were alive, that they should never, ever attempt to move branches or material on top of wires. JCP&L were on scene at various problem areas from late Wednesday until late Thursday evening.

A total of 4,000 customers, according to Sparta Police, were affected at the height of the storm on Wednesday; by Thursday morning at about 10 AM, that number was down to 680 homes. While JCP&L addressed damages to downed lines, various supermarkets began distributing free water and ice on Thursday. By late Thursday, Sparta Police and JCP&L announced restoration of power to all customers.

Image via Sparta Township Police Department, Facebook, used under Creative Commons.