It's Official: Schools Closed Monday

At the urging of village officials, Ridgewood Public Schools have decided to close all schools Monday due to "dangerous conditions."

RHS Principal Jack Lorenz confirmed to Patch he – like parents – received the automated call late Sunday afternoon.

Though several trees were down in the area, Lorenz said he wasn't aware of any damage to the school. He did not believe power had yet been restored as of early Sunday evening, he said.

The weekend's football game was postponed to Monday, but with school closed, the game – tentatively scheduled to be played at 4 p.m. – may have to be played earlier. It all depends on the power situation, Lorenz said.

"We've got Spirit Week this week and the first day was Halloween Costume Day, which was supposed to be tomorrow but we're going to push that back to Tuesday if we're open Tuesday," Lorenz added. "If not, we'll make it on Wednesday and just push the whole Spirit Week back."

"We're just waiting day-by-day," he said of the "Snowtober" storm that knocked out power to nearly all of Ridgewood into Sunday afternoon.

"Because of , there's no way we can clear them up by Monday," Mayor Keith Killion remarked Sunday morning.

The village has urged Trick-or-Treaters not to venture out until late Monday afternoon, if at all. "I hope kids aren't out in this weather in these conditions but that's not our call, it's a parental call," Lorenz added. 

[Update at 3:15 p.m.: Power was restored to the CBD at around 12:45 p.m. A few minutes later, Twitter user Jimmie reported that power was back on North Pleasant near Valley Hospital. Numerous other residents have also said their areas were back on the grid.]

About 271,000 PSE&G customers as of late Sunday morning, the company previously said in a statement. The utility estimated many would not have power until Monday, but workers mobilized quickly. Fewer than 10,001 in Ridgewood were without power as of 4:30 p.m., according to the outage map.

Even with the lights on, concerns remain with the safety of residents, officials say.

"We're definitely concerned for the disabled and elderly," Killion said. Most have been without power since early Saturday afternoon, he said, urging that neighbors check on them. "We have a list and we're going around checking on people. But we're praying for the power to come on."

The governor declared a state of emergency on Saturday and Killion said the village is awaiting word from Bergen County to see if it will open emergency shelters to residents. Unfortunately, he added, any buildings the village would typically use are without power.

"Please stay inside," the mayor urged residents. "With the wind whipping, branches can fall on you. Only go out if you absolutely have to."