Ahead of Hurricane Sandy, High Winds Slam Wyckoff, Franklin Lakes

Hurricane Sandy isn't expected to make landfall until later this evening, but fallen trees from the storm's preceding winds cause power outages and road closures throughout Wyckoff and Franklin Lakes Monday.

Many township roads were closed — Newtown Avenue, a stretch of Wyckoff Avenue near Goffle Road, Oak Avenue — mostly because of fallen trees and downed power lines. Utility companies scrambled all day to restore power as ferocious winds whipped through Wyckoff. Crews were still working Monday evening to keep power flowing as the storm winds intensified.

Wyckoff Mayor Chris DePhillips said that he was told by Bergen County officials that the storm was expected to make landfall by early evening.

"As soon as it gets on land we should slowly start to see winds begin to decrease," he said, adding that by early morning gusts are expected to drop down from 50 to mph to 10 mph.

"I'm not going to breathe a sigh of relief until these winds die down, probably around 2 a.m.," DePhillips said.

Wyckoff-Franklin Lakes Patch caught up with DPW Chief Scott Fisher and Committeeman Kevin Rooney outside a Monroe Avenue home where a massive tree limb had just smashed a resident's car.

Rooney said that while trees initially began to fall mostly in isolated sections of the township, they had begun to fall in every neighborhood as Sandy drew closer.

There were no reports of major damage or fires at Wyckoff homes, Rooney said, but property damage and wisespread electricity and utility outages struck across the township.

DePhillips confirmed that there were no injuries reported in the township.

Outages were reported throughout the township all day. As of 7:20 p.m. Wyckoff-Franklin Lakes Patch Facebook readers were reporting the following outages:

• Kelly McLaughlin Hagan: Hickory Hill no power
• Sandy P Cerami No power on Wyckoff Ave north of Cedar Hill...Down tree and power lines exposed. WPD/WFD was on it like they knew in advance! Awesome team of people...thank you folks!
• Lynn Autino Murphy By the Wildlife Center is out
• Jaimie Bernstein Power out on Woodbury dr
• Lisa Beard Hagy Power out on Voorhis Ave and Monroe Ave
• Marc Phillips Victor Way (according to my parents).
• Melissa Thompson Charatz Power out on oakwood/pinewood
• Michael Stern No power in north haledon
• Michael Keith Press Power out on cottage rd off grand view
• Andy Veights No power on Sicomac Ave off of Cedar Hill
• Sheryl Williams Van Duzer Power out on Ralph Ave. Wyckoff, near the Brick House
• Alison Klomburg Missel Corner of Wyckoff and Godwin Ave
• Cheryl Ann Bohny dr is out now.

Franklin Lakes

In Franklin Lakes a large number of homes were still in the dark but there were no reports of injuries, according to borough Mayor Frank Bivona.

"Hard to get good numbers but we have at least a few hundred homes without power," Bivona said.

Borough Police, DPW, OEM, fire and ambulance crews were all working hard to resond, he added.

"Our OEM plan in place and working well," Bivona said. "[There have been] no injuries at this point and residents [are] staying home."

Back in Wyckoff, officials said they plan to travel the streets and assess damages before the OEM team reconvenes in the morning to move into "storm aftermath mode," DePhillips said. 

DePhillips added that Wyckoff Memorial Town Hall would be open from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday for residents.

"I wanted town hall left open so that residents can come in for informational purposes," DePhillips said.

Providing a "mechanism for residents to walk into town hall" and get assistance is important, he added.

For more local Hurricane Sandy news click here:

• Sandy Central On Patch
• Gallery: Hurricane Sandy Knocking on Your Door
• Preparing for Hurricane Sandy in Wyckoff: What You Need to Know
• DePhillips on Hurricane Sandy's Impact: Strong Winds Likely to KO Electricity
• Mayor Bivona: 'Massive' Hurricane Sandy Could Cut Power for Days

Have a question or news tip? Contact editor Joseph M. Gerace at Joseph.Gerace@patch.com, or find us on Facebook and Twitter. For news straight to your inbox every morning, sign up for our daily newsletter.