Windsor Residents Cope With Alfred's Aftermath

With Winter Storm Alfred wreaking havoc across the state, Windsor residents spent much of Sunday cleaning up the mess left behind, and wrapping their minds around the possibility of being without power for an extended period of time, as Governor Dannel P. Malloy cautioned.

Not a light around town was in working order Sunday. Main roads were clear, but downed trees throughout neighborhoods caused extensive damage to power lines.

According to CL&P's most recent outage map, 100 percent of Windsor customers are out of power. That's more than 13,000 households and businesses. The extent of the damage has yet to be assessed by CL&P, which is part of the reason it will take a while to get crews on the road and begin repairs, the Governor said Sunday.

The news of the possibility of being without power for a week or more was news to many residents in Windsor, who spent the night and morning without television or radio.

"Put me down for 'This sucks,'" said Windsor resident Mike Worry in response to hearing the prognosis.

Worry spent the afternoon cleaning his yard on the corner of Spring Street, which was full of debris from a large tree in his front yard that split from the weight of leaves and snow overnight.

Many residents, most of whom were not badly affected by Tropical Storm Irene when she passed through two months ago, are taking the news in stride and hoping for the best, whether they are prepared or not.

"We're just happy we're retired and don't have to head out to work," said resident Gary Anderson, who took a drive around town to take a look at the storm's damage.

"The area around Matianuck Avenue is awful," he said. "It looks like a war zone."

With residents across town dealing with much of the same problems, it's hard for many to get upset about the power loss or the early snow.

Residents Ken and Martha Pinckney, who were busy shoveling their driveway, summed up the situation by saying, "It is what it is."