Downed Tree Threatens 911 Line

A large tree came down across Accabonac Road, near the train trestle, in East Hampton Village during the blizzard remains in the roadway, which has been closed to traffic since Saturday.

East Hampton Village Administrator Larry Cantwell said the tree also took down power lines and phone wires, including a line for the 911 emergency phone line to the Emergency Services Building.

"Ultimately, it was agreed Verizon needed to be here with a full crew to handle the situation," Catnwell said.

The crew arrived on Tuesday.

Scott Fithian, the superintendent of the public works department in the village, said the Long Island Power Authority had to remove the utility lines first, which has been done, but most the lines entangled were Verizon's.

East Hampton Village Police Chief Jerry Larsen said there was never any interruption to any of the 911 phone lines. In fact, he reported there were no major problems for emergency communications at all during the storm, as there was with Tropical Storm Irene, when communication with the tower in Montauk failed and the mobile backup unit had to be utilized.

Verizon workers are going to take care of most of the tree's removal since they have to cut so much of it apart to free the wires, Fithian said. "We will assist them in whatever shape or form they need," he said.

Cantwell said he hoped the tree would be removed by the end of the day, but Fithian said he wasn't exactly sure how long it would take for Verizon to complete the job.

Meanwhile, Fithian said the rest of the village is in "pretty good shape." He traveled up to Farmingdale on Monday to pick up some parts for a truck, and said East Hampton's clean up seems to be going a lot better than points further west.

• RELATED: Brookhaven Town Board members say supervisor’s absence hindered cleanup from historic storm.