UPDATE–7 A.M. FRIDAY, SEPT. 7:  Ridgefield Rd. is now OPEN according to a Wilton Police Facebook status update.

UPDATE–6:30 A.M. Friday, Sept. 7:  Ridgefield Rd. is still closed as of 6:30 a.m.; police say they hope to have the road opened by 7 a.m., but Eversource is still working on the scene. Power to Wilton Center is on-and-off, as Eversource continues to work to fix the issue. Eversource reports 17 customers still without power at 6:20 a.m..

A large tree fell across Ridgefield Rd. during the late afternoon storms on Thursday, Sept. 6, knocking down wires that bring power to Wilton Center. The wires fell across the driveway of the Children’s Day School and A Kids’ Place 2 Daycare at 111 Ridgefield Rd., trapping some of the children and teachers at the daycare, and causing widespread power outages and business closures in the Village Center.

As of 8 p.m., Ridgefield Rd. is still closed between Belden Hill Rd. and Middlebrook Farm Rd.; Police say to expect a 12 hour closure.

Power went out shortly before 5 p.m., when the tree brought the wires down. A witness described a bright blue flash and a boom nearby, followed by an immediate power loss.

Police responded to the daycare, and teachers on-site stayed until parents were able to reach the school on foot through a neighbor’s yard. The last child was picked up at around 6:30 p.m., as police helped everyone walk out beneath the drooping wires overhead.

Eversource showed up on-site around 7 p.m.; as of 8:30 p.m. the utility’s outage map shows 346 Wilton customers without power.

UPDATE, 9:50 P.M.–Eversource spokesman Mitchell Gross said that of the 346 Wilton customers without power, the bulk of those outages are likely due to an equipment issue near the substation at 53 Old Danbury Rd., near Wilton Commons and the Station Place Apartments.

“Unfortunately, there are currently no estimates for restoration,” Gross emailed to GMW. “Crews will remain on the job as long as it takes to get all of our customers back on. We had over 11,000 customers without power across the state just a few hours ago, and that number has already been cut in half.”

GOOD Morning Wilton was on Ridgefield Rd. and in Wilton Center, shortly after power went out. Almost all the businesses in town were closed:  Village Market, CVS, Starbucks, Wilton Hardware and more were darkened and empty. The Wilton Library closed at 5:30 p.m.. Stop and Shop was operating on backup power, and the store continued to check out shoppers (although most aisles were dark except for the refrigerated dairy and freezer sections).

Police reported that there were no other road closures in town. Chief John Lynch says power restoration in Wilton Center may take all night.

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