Power has been restored to most Burlington County homes and businesses and all county roads are now back open close to one week after Tropical Storm Isaias rolled through the region.
Less than 100 properties were without power in the county as a of Monday morning, compared to the more than 80,000 out immediately after Tuesday’s storm.
All county roads were back open on Monday. Two dozen were closed after the tropical storm.
Freeholder Dan O’Connell thanked county employees and first responders for their work in response to Isaias and Friday’s thunderstorms.
“Last week started with Isaias and ended with more severe weather Friday. Tens of thousands of us lost power for days and some two dozen county roads had to be cleared of fallen trees, branches, wires and debris. I’m grateful for all the county employees, public works crews, and first responders who worked tirelessly before, during and after the storms to help keep us safe and our county functioning. They have difficult jobs even during the best of circumstances, and this week was far from ideal. They deserve our thanks for the jobs they performed and the services they delivered,” said O’Connell, who is the board’s liaison to the county departments of Public Safety and Public Works.
“I also want to thank our residents who took the time to check on elderly neighbors or who assisted someone who lost power by bringing them food, water or ice. Often times it’s these simple acts of kindness that make our county and its communities so wonderful.”
Just over 5.6 inches of rain fell across the region last week during last week’s storms, including a hi of 2.6 inches measured in Medford on Tuesday following the tropical storm, but none of the north, southwest or south branches of the Rancocas Creek reached flood stage.
Peak winds of between 56 to 62 mph were measured at Joint Base McGuire Air Force Base and at Coyle Field in Woodland Township, according to the National Weather Service.
Burlington County Central Communications, which handles police, fire and emergency dispatch for all 40 municipalities in the county, field close to 2,000 emergency and non-emergency calls during Tuesday’s storm, plus an additional 6,886 calls from police and other sources.