Hundreds in Riverhead still affected by power outages following storms, PSEG opens cooling station

Power outages across the North Fork are still affecting more than 2,200 customers Wednesday morning, a day after severe thunderstorms early Tuesday morning plunged tens of thousands of homes and businesses island-wide into darkness.

Almost 500 customers are still without power in Riverhead, according to PSEG’s online outage map, including 218 in Baiting Hollow and 244 in Wading River.

Those in Baiting Hollow have an estimated restoration time of 11 p.m. tonight, according to the map. Wading River customers do not yet have an estimated time of restoration.

“They’re still evaluating the situation,” said Kristina Pappas, PSEG spokesperson. “As soon as they have a better idea, we’ll have more information.”

Riverhead Town Hall on Howell Avenue is open to residents who need to charge electronic devices or escape the heat, Supervisor Sean Walter said this morning.

PSEG has also opened its office on Doctors Path for residents to charge devices. The utility is also distributing water and ice to residents there.

More than 2,200 customers in Southold are still without power this morning, according to the outage map. Those customers aren’t expected to have power restored until 11 p.m. tonight.

Restoring power to affected areas has required the removal of “very large debris,” complicating restoration efforts, said PSEG Long Island president David Daly in a conference call yesterday.

“This storm packed a very strong, concentrated punch,” Daly said. The damage wasn’t so much limbs and branches, but “whole trees toppled over” and some “sheared off at the top.”

Crews from PSE&G in New Jersey and Con Edison are providing assistance with PSEG-LI’s restoration efforts, the utility said in a press release. Daly said the utility also called in contractors from the local area and beyond.