First there was thunder and lightning in River Edge, then there was a weather report which warned people to seek shelter. Soon after, we had a brief period of very high wind and sounds of nearby electrical transformers being blown and our entire neighborhood lost power. 

The local fire department was on their way to attend a report of arcing power lines when they came upon a house in flames. A utility pole and a tree which soon caught fire had fallen onto the house. Firefighters were unable to do anything because 21,000-volt power lines were live and sparking against the house. The poor family who lived there had gotten out of their house in time, but their home and two cars were completely destroyed in the fire. I didn’t know them, but I felt sorry for them. 

Two of the neighboring houses had basement fires due to resulting power surges. My son, Michael, was on the scene early-on and was later interviewed by News 12 NJ. I didn’t see the broadcast because, despite having borrowed a generator, we still hadn’t connected a television to the generator. Another house, one block from us, will need to be fully rewired due to electrical surges. 

Now there is calm after the storm. Public Service tells us that two crews are working on getting power to our street and that our power will be restored this evening (July 7). The consensus among the utility works and tree removal companies was that we had experienced mini tornadoes in River Edge as well as two or three adjacent towns. As the saying goes, “my mother told me there’d be days like this, but not so many in a row.” By the time my next column is due, I’m sure things will be better.