National Grid made significant progress restoring power in Orleans County today. As of 10:42 p.m., all but 356 customers were back on line.

The power company started the day with 3,275 customers without power. On Sunday there were more than 8,000 with no electricity, or about half of the county.

National Grid had 96 crews in the county today. The company is working to have power fully restored in Orleans by noon tomorrow, the day before Christmas.

Company reports 1,453 still without power in Orleans

Photos by Tom Rivers – A tree crushed this 1995 Cadillac Seville, owned by Shaun Cobb of Albion. The tree damaged two other cars when it fell on Brown Street near the Caroline Street intersection. Cobb has been working to remove the tree by himself.

It shouldn’t be too much longer. That was the message from Paul Wagner, Orleans County emergency management director.

He knows residents want their electricity back on. National Grid has reduced the number of customers without power from 3,275 this morning to 1,453 as of 5:38 p.m. Wagner expects many more will be back on-line before 10 p.m. when National Grid crews will call it a day.

The crews will be back to work in the morning and expect to have power restored to residents by noon.

“We’re nearing the end of the power outage routine in Orleans County,” Wagner told the County Legislature this afternoon.

National Grid has 96 crews working to restore power and reattach lines to houses, Wagner said.

He also noted the six fire companies from Wyoming County that volunteered to help with basement pumping and be on standby for other fire calls. They arrived at about 4 p.m. on Sunday and stayed past noon today, easing some of the burden for local firefighters.

The Wyoming departments include North Java, Harris Corners, Perry, North Java, Warsaw and Arcade. A crew from Chili in Monroe County also was on scene in eastern Orleans.

Wagner said he was grateful the storm did not cause any injuries or fatalities.

Orleans County was alive with the sound of chain saws today while workers and residents cut up some of the fallen branches and trees. Bob Dexter works on a limb behind his stepdaughters’ house on East Park Street.

Photo by Tom Rivers – Here is another photo from the ice storm on Sunday, showing the Orleans County Courthouse in the background.

More than 3,000 National Grid customers remain without electricity this morning, and the power company advised the lights may not be back on until noon on Christmas Eve.

The ice storm that broke branches and felled trees, resulting in downed power lines. National Grid has made progress since yesterday when 8,590 of 18,174 customers in Orleans County were without electricity.

There are still 3,152 without power, as of 6:43 a.m. today. That represents 17.3 percent of the company’s customer base in Orleans.

It could be worse. In St. Lawrence County in northern New York, 28.0 percent of National Grid customers, 15,442 out of 55,065, are without electricity.

The company made big strides in Genesee County yesterday. As of this morning, only 82 customers were without electricity just south of Orleans.

Photos by Tom Rivers

National Grid has many crews working in Orleans County, trying to restore electricity to residents after Sunday’s ice storm.

This crew is at work on East State Street in Albion. They are one of 20 crews that drove in from Worcester, Mass., to work in Orleans County.

As of 8:45 a.m. this morning, 3,275 National Grid customers were without electricity in Orleans County.

National Grid expects most of those without power will have it back on by tonight, but some people may have to wait until noon tomorrow, when the county should be fully back on line, said Steve Brady, National Grid spokesman.

National Grid has 2,300 field workers deployed today in western and northern New York, the area’s hardest hit by the ice storm.

The power company is using its own local crews, National Grid crews from other parts of upstate, Long Island and New England, as well as contractors and crews from neighboring utilities, Brady said.

They are backed up by several hundred support personnel doing everything from work planning to customer contact to organizing meals and lodging for out of town crews, he said.

The Village of Albion Department of Public Works marked off a downed wire on Herrick Street.

Photos by Tom Rivers – The crew from Strykersville includes, from left: Brian George, Eric Kirsch and Carol Shaw.

ALBION – Six crews from Wyoming County are heading home this afternoon after spending about 20 hours in Orleans County, pumping basements and responding to other fire calls.

The firefighters responded to a mutual aid call to fire companies in Orleans County which have been busy since an ice storm hit at about 2 a.m. Sunday morning. Many fire companies also responded to a house fire in Holley Saturday night on Orleans-Monroe Countyline Road.

“They have helped tremendously,” said Jeremy Graham, assistant fire chief for the Albion Fire Department. “They gave us peace of mind by being here and gave us a chance to get refreshed.”

A crew from Strykersville pumped 14 basements between 9:30 p.m. and 2:30 a.m., and then since 7:30 a.m. today, working mostly around Albion.

Three firefighters from Strykersville responded to the mutual aid call for Orleans County.

“We were fortunate to have some time off from our jobs so we could come down,” said Eric Kirsch of Strykersville.

He got engaged on Saturday. His fiancee gave her blessing for him to help in Orleans for the day.

“She just wants me home for Christmas,” Kirsch said.

The team from the North Java Fire Company includes, from left: Kyle Meyer, Jeremy Boorman, Jim Tuttle and Evan Church.

Firefighters from five other Wyoming County fire departments – Harris Corners, Perry, North Java, Warsaw and Arcade – worked in Orleans, with different crews assigned to the eastern, central and western portions of the county.

The North Java crew stayed in the Albion fire hall and was on standby for any fire calls. The crew responded to an EMS call. Otherwise, they stayed up most of the night playing Uno and Rummy. Their presence allowed Albion firefighters to get a good night’s rest.

Jeremy Boorman, a North Java firefighter, said the Wyoming firefighters were eager to step forward and help while Orleans was plagued with power outages, flooded cellars and downed wires.

“We hope for the same if we ever need it,” he said about the out-of-county mutual aid. “We hope people will come and help us.”

Company reports nearly 4,000 still without electricity

Photo by Tom Rivers – The Albion Rescue Truck is parked in a driveway on West Academy Street while firefighters pumped a basement. Several streets in Albion remain without power.

National Grid has made progress restoring electricity to several areas of Orleans County. About 4,500 customers have had their power return since 2 p.m.

The company reported at 7 p.m. that 3,912 customers remained without electricity. At 1:55 p.m., there were 8,590 customers with no power, nearly half of the county.

Genesee County has 483 customers without power and Monroe County only has 178 off-line right now, according to National Grid. Niagara County also has been hit hard by the ice storm. There are 6,467 customers without power, as of 7 p.m.

Help arrives from 6 Wyoming County fire companies

Photos by Tom Rivers – Albion Fire Chief Rocky Sidari, left, and firefighter Gary Rowley are outside 311 West Academy St., Albion, while the basement is pumped this evening. The Albion Fire Department responded to 64 calls by about 5 p.m., including many calls to pump basements.

Orleans County firefighters have been responding to calls since 2 a.m., nonstop requests to have basements pumped and tree limbs removed.

With thousands of residents still without power, firefighters expect they will continue to be busy, especially with basements filling with water because sump pumps aren’t working without electricity.

“Until we get the power back on we’re chasing cellars,” said Jesse Babcock, fire chief for the Barre Fire Company.

About two thirds of Barre has been without power.

Fallen branches, toppled trees and downed wires have littered much of the county.

“It looks like a war zone out there,” said Dan Morrow, a member of the Albion fire police.

He was out for hours trying to direct people away from dangerous spots with wires and limbs in the road.

“The worst part is people don’t use common sense,” he said about some of the motorists.

Albion Fire Department Captain Jared Hapemen, right, and his brother Jason pump out a basement on West Academy Street in Albion this evening. The department has been responding to calls since 2 a.m.

Albion was up to 64 calls at about 5 p.m. for pumped basements, tree limb removal and downed wires.

Orleans County has been hit particularly hard by the power outages with about half of the county losing electricity.

The state Office of Emergency Management activated mutual aid for Orleans, requesting assistance from firefighters from other counties. At about 4:30 p.m., a caravan of six fire trucks or rescue vehicles from Wyoming County arrived at the Albion fire hall.

Wyoming firefighters will be here until noon tomorrow responding to calls around county. They will relieve firefighters who have been responding to calls since the middle of the night.

The Wyoming departments were sent to Ridgeway, Barre, Albion and Holley.

William Dake, a Castile firefighter, rode down in the Perry fire truck. He is ready to spend the night and tomorrow morning in Orleans, responding to calls.

“This is what firefighters do, we help each other, ” he said.

Dake was Castile fire chief when a massive blaze broke out in the Castile village hall on Oct. 2, 2012. Firefighters from five counties and 50 fire companies responded to that fire.

“We’ve had people help us and it’s time for us to repay,” Dake said.

Firefighters brought six fire vehicles from Wyoming County, including this truck from the Harris Corners Fire Department, to assist Orleans County firefighters.

Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Ice encases these berries on the bush in front of Mike and Cheryl Wertman’s home in Medina.

The ice storm has caused power outages in western, central and northern New York, but no county has been hit as hard as Orleans.

There are 8,590 National Grid customers without power in Orleans. That represents 47.3 percent of National Grid’s customer base in the county.

Two other counties – Niagara and Jefferson – have more customers without power, but their percentage of the county without electricity isn’t as high as in Orleans.

Jefferson County in the North Country has 22,379 customers without power, or 40.6 percent of the county, according to a National Grid report at 1:55 p.m.

Niagara has 14,104 customers without power, or 17.4 percent of the 81,097 total.

Other nearby counties haven’t been hit nearly as hard as Orleans with power outages. Genesee has 1,657 customers without electricity, or 6.2 percent of the 26,584 in the county. National Grid has power out for 5.4 percent or 1,094 of its 20,205 customers in Monroe County.

Erie County has 1.5 percent of its National Grid customers without power, or 4,226 of the 279,517 total.

Firefighters pumping basements, removing limbs

Photo by Mike Wertman – The North entrance to Lakewood Village in Medina was flooded this morning due to an overflowed drainage ditch.

Widespread power outages remain in Orleans County about 12 hours after the brunt of the ice storm hit during the night.

National Grid reports that 8,590 homes are without electricity as of 1:55 p.m. That is nearly half of the power company’s 18,174 customers in the county.

Firefighters have been busy pumping flooded basements and removing tree limbs from roads, a dispatcher said from the Orleans County Sheriff’s Department.

All of the roads are open in the county.

“There aren’t any serious problems,” the dispatcher said.

Gary Moore awoke at 2:35 a.m. this morning to a loud pop and then the sound of a tree crashing on the family car. The tree also torn off some siding and damaged the roof of the Moore home on South Main Street in Albion.

Moore, an Albion town justice, said a 2011 Chevy Traverse (pictured above) is likely totaled from the fallen tree.

Photo by Cheryl Wertman

In Medina, Connie Hamilton woke up at 3 a.m. when a tree landed one her house at 40 Lakewood Village. The tree pierced two roofs and part of it punctured the ceiling in her bedroom.

D.S. Tree Service workers were on the scene this morning, working on the cleanup at Hamilton’s.

Photo by Cheryl Wertman

Several thousand people remain without power in Orleans County, National Grid is reporting.

The falling limbs have taken down power lines throughout Orleans County, leaving thousands of residents without power, National Grid reported.

The outages are spread throughout the county, with about 1,000 homes in both Albion and Medina without electricity, as well as pockets of power outages in most towns.

National Grid reports it is assessing the conditions. In some cases the power company has a crew assigned, but doesn’t for all of the outages.

Photo by Tom Rivers – Presbyterian Road in Albion is lined with trees near the Ridgeway town line. The National Weather Service warns that freezing rain tonight could make roads hazardous and stress trees. This photo was taken at about noon today.

An ice storm warning is in effect for Orleans County today until about noon on Sunday, the National Weather Service has advised.

Orleans, Genesee, Niagara, Monroe and northern Erie are all included in the warning. Those areas could get a half inch to an inch of ice, making driving dangerous. The buildup of ice may bring down tree limbs and knock out power.

“Roads will become very slick in some locations tonight, especially on bridges,” the NWS advised.

The Weather Service recommended postponing any travel.

“If you lose power and plan on running a generator, make sure that the generator is located outdoors and is properly ventilated,” NWS said.

Orleans also remains under a flood warning until 9 p.m. today.

The area was again blanketed by fog today. This photo shows a farm on Knowlesville Road in the town of Ridgeway.

The big grain facility at the corner of Knowlesville Road and Route 31, normally very hard to miss, was covered in fog earlier today.

ALBION – We’ve had a nice response to people wanting to buy the 2014 Orleans Hub calendar that features 26 images from Orleans County. The calendars are $10 each.

We’ve been selling the calendars at the Lake Country Pennysaver, 170 North Main St. in Albion and added two other locations: Bindings Bookstore at 28 West Bank St., Albion and Della’s Chocolates at 512 North Main St., Medina.

For more information on those stores’ hours, click here for Bindings and click here for Della’s. Editor’s note: The Bindings Bookstore link has been intentionally removed, as it is no longer in service.

It’s been a dreary day in Orleans County with the area blanketed by fog. In a few months the tulips will pop out. This photo shows the flowers in front of the First United Methodist Church in Albion. It’s the dominant photo for April in the Hub calendar.

ALBION – Orleans County is tapping its contingency account to distribute $11,500 to five organizations in the county.

The Legislature did not give the agencies an increase in funding in the 2014 budget. But with the year nearly over county officials said there is money in the contingency account to give some of the agencies a little boost.

The Legislature agreed to give $4,000 to the Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council, $2,500 to Cornell Cooperative Extension, $2,000 for Soil and Water Conservation District, $2,000 to the Sportmen’s Federation and $1,000 to the Cobblestone Society Museum.

This is the second straight year the county has used contingency funds to give agencies a year-end financial boost. Last year the Legislature approved $14,500 for three groups.

Legislature Chairman David Callard said the agencies submitted funding requests as part of the county’s annual budget process. The agencies sought increases in funding, but the Legislature did not raise the budgeted amounts.

The county was comfortable, with the year nearly over, that it could direct some of its contingency funds to the agencies. All are currently in the county budget except the Cobblestone Museum, which was taken out a few years ago.

Here are the funded agencies and how much they will receive from the county in the 2014 budget: Cornell Cooperative Extension, $219,150; Orleans Economic Development Agency, $150,000; Soil and Water, $57,750; Libraries, $10,000; Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council, $1,000; and the Sportsman’s Federation, $500.