Seaview Alert # 6 - Goodnight Irene
 
 
So far, damage seems limited to several washovers up and down the island (but no breaches!), trees down, two LIPA poles toppled over (in Fair Harbor and Point of Woods), a fair amount of flooding on the bay side, and a massive amount of foam from the ocean pushed up all over the our dunes and oceanfront houses.  A very strong wind currently blowing out of the northwest, combined with the approaching high tide tonight, will unfortunately mean additional flooding on the bay side.
 
Now that we are all breathing a relative sigh of relief, the next challenge is to get the Island up and running as soon as possible. This will take a certain amount of time and patience from all concerned. The Fire Island ferries east and west terminals in Bayshore were both flooded this morning and Maple Avenue was impassable. As of now, therefore, the ferry company is not sure when regular service will be restored to the Island, but it will definitely not be tomorrow.  It is best to check the Fire Island Ferry website for updates at www.fireislandferries.com.  

Larry and the Seaview staff are planning on getting back to Seaview tomorrow morning to give us a firsthand assessment of the Seaview infrastructure.
 
This afternoon, the Islip Town Supervisor Phil Nolan, accompanied by the OEM Directors of Islip and Brookhaven, and a representative of LIPA, went over to the beach with a damage assessment team to determine the condition of the  infrastructure in the communities. They will be holding meetings this evening and in the morning to identify the personnel and resources required to repair any damage and to assure safe access to the Island. They are also working very closely with LIPA to re-establish the electric power supply.

The timetable for bringing the power grid back into operation has not yet been determined. All of Long Island has experienced downed trees and wires, and of course LIPA will have to set priorities for repair. The good news is that they have currently positioned the equipment they will need to work on Fire Island in Kismet. As the winds subside and the flooding recedes, they will be able to replace the damaged poles and wires and re-energize the sub-stations.
 
We know that everyone wants to get the power back on and get back to Fire Island asap.  So as soon as we have new or relevant information, we will update you . . . .
 
 Picture of Ocean Beach – Sunday Afternoon
 
 

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