[Update] Avon Power Outages Decline, Schools to Reopen Thursday

The outlook is much better in Avon Wednesday morning after Hurricane Sandy, according to town officials, as power outage percentages have decreased from nearly 70 percent Tuesday night to eight percent.

"We made a lot of progress since yesterday," said Avon Town Manager Brandon Robertson.

Avon Mountain reopened Tuesday night after Connecticut Light & Power and utility crews cleared down wires that crossed Route 44 by Deercliff Road.

"All streets are open," Robertson said.

Trick-or-treating is not banned this Halloween like last year and is being left up to the parents to decide whether it's safe enough. For coverage of last year's trick-or-treating ban, click on the link provided.

"Use your best discretion," Robertson said.

The schools, all of which were without power early evening Tuesday except Roaring Brook School, have electricity again, Robertson said.

Superintendent of Schools Gary Mala said that schools will be open Thursday. Besides power outages, there was no damage to the schools, he said.

Streets and neighborhoods with the most outages as of 10:30 a.m. include Peachtree Village (85), Deercliff Road (70), Gatewood (more than 30) and Darling Drive (more than 30). Peachtree Village includes residents who are 55 and older and the elderly population there reported no issues stemming from the power outages to the town, according to Robertson.

CL&P is working on restoring power to the streets.

Most businesses have power again. Town Hall and the Avon Free Public Library have reopened. The town is in the process of closing the emergency shelter.

Overall, the interaction with CL&P has been much smoother in comparison to the October snowstorm. Robertson said that the town had a liasion from the power company from the beginning of Hurricane Sandy.

"This time around, our interaction was very good," Robertson said. "The reporting is getting much more consistent with what we're seeing on the ground. Last year the issue was heightened expectations."

Robertson noted that CL&P hasn't publicly released a deadline yet for when power will be restored. During the October snowstorm, many Avon residents and town officials were getting frustrated when the target power restoration date passed and there were still outages.The town has not released an estimate either of when power will be restored.

"It's one thing if the estimate is well grounded," Robertson said. "You have to recognize that if you put an estimate out there, it's not interpreted so much as an estimate as a promise."

How did the damage and power outages from Hurricane Sandy compare to Tropical Storm Irene and the October snowstorm?

"Anytime you have almost 3/4 of the town without power, it's a serious issue," Robertson said.

On Halloween last year, Route 44 was just getting power back and the majority of town didn't have power.

"Alfred was much more extensive," Robertson said. "I don't recall the outages being as high with Irene. The damage was probably similar."

Flooding was not a problem during this hurricane, even in the low-lying areas like Old Farms Road. The rivers were low, so that helped.

"It wasn't a rain event. It wasn't a flooding event," he said. "It had high wind gusts."

How did you fare in Hurricane Sandy? Are your neighborhoods welcoming trick-or-treaters? Are you taking your kids out in costume? Do you have power back? What did you do to pass the time without power?

Check our Hurricane Sandy Avon Info Center for regular updates until power is full restored. Upload your photos and videos to our storm gallery.

Editor's note: This article was updated at 11:37 a.m. after Patch got off the phone with Superintendent Gary Mala. He said that schools will open Thursday without delay.

Also, we've gotten notifications that some people are clicking on the the link to our story about Avon's trick-or-treating ban from last year and getting confused. To clarify, that link is intended so readers can look back on the Halloween situation in 2011 when trick-or-treating was canceled due to post-snowstorm damage and power outages. Trick-or-treating is being left up to parents' discretion, as stated on the town website.