Tree on electric wires following storm (photo by Jamestown BPU – April 16, 2023)

Gusty winds and hard rain caused trees and branches to bring down some power lines around the area Sunday night.

The City of Jamestown put out a notice that there were some power outages in the Board of Public Utilities’ area. They cautioned that some discolored water was reported, but that is expected to clear by today.

National Grid had only a couple dozen residences in their area without power in Chautauqua County this morning after news reports said around 1500 lost power last night.

The Jamestown Board of Public Utilities said a circuit tripped at the Dow Street Substation which caused the outage from 8:53 a.m. until restorations began at 9:19 a.m.

The power outage affected a wide area including all of Jamestown, and parts of Lakewood, Frewsburg, and Falconer.

As a result of the power outage, water pumps turned off, stirring the water. Discolored water is expected to clear by this morning.

Those Affected by Power Outage Urged to be Cautious of Burst Pipes

MAYVILLE – National Grid has announced that power has now been restored for the more than 1,000 customers in the Hartfield, Dewittville, Maple Springs and Ellery areas who were without power yesterday.

With the power back on, the Chautauqua County Office of Emergency Services reminds individuals affected by the outage to please check their homes for any burst water pipes or flooded basements due to sump pump failures and the possibility of electric shock due to electrical contact with water.

If individuals experience any odors of smoke they should call 911 immediately. Any concerns with natural gas can be directed to National Fuel at 1-800-444-3130.

According the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office, National Grid was performing service on a substation in Ellery Tuesday morning which led to a failure at that substation and left 1,451 customers without power.

The company had originally expected the outage to last roughly an hour.  However, it was learned it would be much longer as the utility worked to set up a temporary substation. Officials said they expected to have power restored by roughly noon today.

Chautauqua County Emergency Services Director John Griffith mobilized a response plan to assist the residents without power.  Reverse 911 and other forms of contact were utilized to inform residents of the situation.  The American Red Cross set up shelters at the Maple Springs Fire Department and at St. Mary of Lourdes Catholic Church in Mayville to help residents who were without power, due to the cold winter conditions overnight.

Chautauqua County Emergency Services personnel will work in conjunction with local fire and emergency services as well as law-enforcement to keep residents updated and assist wherever needed.

The storms began moving into the area just before 11 p.m. Monday and continued for more than an hour, with plenty of rainfall, strong winds, and lightning hitting a widespread area.

As a result of the storm, scattered outages were reported in the region and the Jamestown Board of Public Utilities Electric Division reported early Tuesday working to repair several outages that began occurring around midnight, due to high winds.

Jamestown electric outages were reported in the Palmer, Norton and Pershing areas.  Electricity is off in the areas of King, English and Tower Streets. The water pump station at English Hill was also off due to the power outage and caused some low water pressure and discolored water in that area.

Power was also out in the Village of Celoron in the vicinity of Jackson Avenue, Livingston Avenue, 5th and 7th Streets.  A few customers in the Bonita area of Fluvanna and on Elmwood in Falconer also lost power.  And West Ellicott streets of Howard, Warwick and Elmwood  were out of power.

Damage to electric lines seems to be caused by high wind conditions.

BPU crews were on the job working to restore electricity, although no time estimate was provided on when power would be restored.

Crews with National Grid were also working across the region to restore power to several affected areas, primarily in the northern half of the county.

Because of the outage, The Willard Street area will see discolored water into Wednesday morning and maybe early afternoon because the outage also tripped a pump at the English Hill Pump Station.

When that happens, any sediment in the water lines stirs, causing the discolored water. The water is safe, but residents are advised to be sure not to do laundry in that area until you’re certain that your water is clear.