Christie Administration Urges Food Safety Following Storm

Government urges caution with perishable food after loss of power.

The following is a release from Governor Christie's office.  ----------------- The Christie Administration and Health Commissioner Mary O’Dowd urge all residents to throw away any food that may have come in contact with flood or storm waters and individuals that have suffered power outages should keep their refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible to maintain the cold temperature.   Commissioner O'Dowd urged all residents to dispose of any perishable food that may have been above 40 degrees for two hours or more. Food will stay cold in the refrigerator for about four hours if it is unopened. A full freezer will keep the temperature for approximately 48 hours (24 hours if it is half full) if the door remains closed. However…

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Hurricane Sandy

The Surf Before the Storm

Surfers and fishermen head toward shore

Surfers and fishermen outnumbered beach walkers on many beaches Saturday evening as Hurricane Sandy approached offshore. These surfers and fishermen were at the beach in Bay Head, which is under mandatory state orders to evacuate by 4 p.m. Sunday.

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Hurricane Sandy

HURRICANE SANDY: JCP&L Says it Learned From Its Mistakes

Stresses storm may knock out power for 7-10 days

  Jersey Central Power and Light (JCP&L) President Don Lynch says the company has learned from the mistakes it made from Hurricane Irene and is ready for Hurricane Sandy and the threat it poses to the state. The company took heat when Hurricane Irene left many New Jersey towns without power for days - and, in some cases, weeks. Many thought JCP&L's response was too slow. The biggest lesson learned is getting the information out to customers and municipalities as specifically, quickly and often as possible, Lynch said. The company wants its customers to know as much information as possible, he said. "Just know that Jersey Central will be working hard day and night - we've already started, should that storm hit shore here and cause outages …

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JCP&L: We're Working Around the Clock

Utility company president met with press Wednesday afternoon.

For those yet to have power restored in the wake of Hurricane Irene, it's cold comfort to know that 550,000 customers served in New Jersey by JCP&L had their electricity back as of Wednesday morning. But, at a hastily-organized press conference Wednesday afternoon at the electrical provider's North Jersey headquarters in Morris Township, JCP&L President Donald Lynch said that, and that they are working around the clock to get the remaining 120,000 New Jersey customers still without power back online within the next several days. "This is the worst storm we have seen in recent memory," Lynch said, noting the company provides electricity to approximately 1.1 million customers in Northern and Central New Jersey, across 13 counties. "We …

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JCP&L Warns of Thieves and Scams

Power company warns customers to be wary of crews charging for tree removal.

Jersey Central Power and Light say criminal opportunists are taking advantage of flood conditions. The power company warns residents to be on the look out for thieves pulling down power lines to strip out copper wire for resale as scrap. In a release, JCP&L warned that stripping power lines is illegal and hampers reconstruction efforts. Residents are urged to contact police if they see wire theft.  JCP&L also warns residents to be on the lookout for teams of scam artists posing as JCP&L contractors. The con artists reportedly ask for money from homeowners for tree and branch removal and leave with the money and without providing any services. JCP&L said their real contractors will not ask for money for storm restoration services. 

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Hurricane Irene Downgraded, But Still A Threat To Jersey Shore

Massive storm still packs a punch, forecasters warn

Hurricane Irene, packing 90 m.p.h. winds, has been downgraded to a category one hurricane, but forecasters warned Shore residents to continue to prepare for the worst Saturday morning. At 5 a.m., Irene was located 380 miles south-southwest of Atlantic City, according to the National Weather Service office in Mount Holly. All of the coastal counties of New Jersey remained under a hurricane warning, andmandatory evacuations were in place on all local barrier islands and in some other waterfront communities. Overall, between 6 and 10 inches of rain was expected to fall before all was said and done, according to the latest NWS forecast. An early-morning advisory from the National Hurricane Center in Miami said that Irene "lost some …

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