Road closures reported due to storm; fire at Little Lucharitos
The storm that brought heavy winds across the Northeast Sunday night into Monday resulted in numerous downed poles and wires on Sound Avenue, forcing Riverhead Town police to close the road between Manor Lane and Herricks Lane.
The road will remain closed in both directions until PSEG Long Island can respond, police said. PSEG reported a full crew would be needed to fix the problem and it would happen sometime today. Police said more information will be released once it becomes available from PSEG.
Westbound traffic was backed up from the Manor Lane to Laurel Lane on Main Road shortly after 9 a.m.
Police also closed a portion of Elton Street between East Avenue Extention and Ostrander Avenue due to downed wires.
Riverhead police also reported that at 4:20 a.m., a small fire was discovered in the basement of Little Lucharitos in Aquebogue, which just opened Friday. Police responded to an automatic alarm to find the southeast corner of the basement on fire. The Riverhead Fire Department responded and extinguished the fire, police said.
Owner Marc LaMaina was notified and responded to the scene. The fire does not appear to be suspicious, police said, and the extent of the damage has not been determined.
Mr. LaMaina said on Facebook the restaurant will be closed today, but “all is good.” He wrote that the fire marshal told him that because of the storm a “possible down draft with wind caused the flame on the heater to jump into some combustibles near [the] heater.”
A wind advisory remains in effect until 2 p.m., according to the National Weather Service. A coastal flood advisory remains in effect until 9 a.m. A high wind warning had been in effect overnight, but was since canceled. Winds of 15 to 25 mph are expected with gusts up to 50 mph, the NWS said.
PSEG was reporting over 35,000 customers without power shortly after 9 a.m. Monday. That included 255 customers in Riverhead. More than 1,500 customers were without power in Southold Town, according to PSEG.
Photo caption: A pole leans over Sound Avenue Monday morning. (Credit: Nicole Smith)
