Power expected to be fully restored by Tuesday morning 

FREEHOLD, NJ – A dusk-to-dawn curfew was modified to apply to residential areas throughout the borough tonight as Jersey Central Power & Light crews, their contractors and the Monmouth County Division of Shade Tree continue clearing debris from streets so power can be restored.   

JCP&L crews have been working around the clock in staggered shifts and power is being steadily restored. As they did yesterday, JCP&L and borough officials are urging all residents to leave fallen branches where they lay, because unseen wires underneath could be energized.

“This was a major incident that hit us,” Mayor J. Nolan Higgins said. “I’m proud of how residents seem to be taking it all in stride. To ensure public safety, however it is essential that we continue the curfew one more night in residential neighborhoods. I thank everyone for their participation.”

Severe thunderstorms have been plaguing the Freehold area all last week. The storm that whipped through the borough Saturday night appears to have been a supercell, a thunderstorm that has a rotating, upward draft. The damage extends from the area near the Monmouth County Correctional Institution on Waterworks Road, Freehold Township, and then widens in a southeasterly direction toward East Freehold Showgrounds on Kozloski Road, where the County Fair was located.

“When you see all of these downed trees and wires it is a miracle that no one was hurt,” Freeholder Director John P. Curley said. “County workers, JCP&L crews and the private contractors are working diligently to get this mess cleaned up. Everything should be back to normal soon.”

In addition to the felled trees and downed wires, JCP&L reported 44 broken utility poles. Crews from Northern New Jersey were rerouted to Freehold today.