After about 12 hours of cleanup, officials announced government offices will reopen Thursday while public schools remain closed, with efforts underway for a “hopeful reopening” of the seaports pending Coast Guard assessments, and the full restoration of electricity territory-wide.
At the latest Joint Information Center briefing late Wednesday evening, V.I. Territorial Emergency Management Agency Director Daryl Jaschen said both local airports reopened “successfully” Wednesday, though residents with flights are advised to check on their reservations as there have been some delays. About 15,000 visitors rode out the storm within the U.S. Virgin Islands and Jaschen said critical to getting some of them back home is bringing the ferries from St. Thomas-St. John up and running again.
With vegetation piling the roadways Wednesday morning in the wake of Tropical Storm Ernesto, Jaschen noted a green waste pileup at many of the dump sites and announced special hours for green waste disposal from Aug. 15-18 at the:
- St. Thomas: Nazareth and Cancryn bin sites, 7 a.m.-3 p.m.
- St. John: Susannaberg Transfer Station, 7 a.m.- 3 p.m.
- St. Croix: Anguilla Landfill, 7 a.m.-3 p.m.
Bins will be specially marked. Bulk waste bins will also be open at the same sites on Aug. 17-18, also from 7 a.m.-3 p.m. Both of the territory’s landfills will be closed until noon on Thursday.
Government Offices, Schools and Communications
At this point, government offices will be opening as normal at 8 a.m. on Thursday. Though public schools will remain closed, staff will be coming in to do internal campus assessments for a tentative reopening Friday, though Jaschen said the final call – and updates – will be issued by the Education Department.
Officials have also been keeping in touch with the territory’s communications providers and reported that there are currently only three Liberty VI cell towers down out of 23 sites, including the Flag Hill and Estate Bakkeroe locations on St. Thomas. Efforts continue to restore service, he said.
Power and Water Restoration
Describing the last 24 hours as “eventful,” WAPA Chief Executive Officer Karl Knight described ongoing efforts to restore both power and water across the territory, with delays caused on St. Croix in particular because of large downed trees and lines.
Knight said St. Thomas had weathered the storm successfully, thanks to the dedication of the operations crew at the Harley Power Plant. Units 15 and 23, along with two Wärtsilä generators, remained operational throughout the storm, enabling the plant to handle the full generating load as feeder restoration continues into the evening.
“Unit 23 stayed on at the time we needed it most, weathering the storm with us,” Knight said, noting that this allowed restoration work to begin as soon as conditions permitted. The storm lingered longer than anticipated, causing a slower start, but several key areas have already been restored: 6A from the plant to Fortuna, 7B up to Raphune, 10B fully restored, 7C up to Cassie Hill and 9C up to Nadir.
Challenges remain with 7A, which Knight said was out before the storm, but it is hoped that they would also be worked out Wednesday evening.
On St. John, Cruz Bay’s 7E and 9E feeders have been restored.
Once service is back up on St. Thomas, some pockets of outages will remain, but Knight assured residents that crews are working diligently to address them.
“Our system has proven resilient, with the biggest issues being trees and downed lines. Hazard mitigation efforts paid off, as we didn’t lose a single pole on St. Thomas and only seven old wooden poles on St. Croix.”
The situation on St. Croix is more complicated, Knight explained, due to generation issues that delayed power restoration efforts. “We struggled most of the day to get the gas turbines up and running,” he said. Unit 17 is now operational, with work ongoing to bring Unit 20 online, along with WAPA’s leased Aggreko units.
Feeders 1A, 2A, 3A, and 5A are being worked on, with progress being made on 4A, 7A, and 9B. Knight said crews would try to restore up to the crusher on 10B by this evening while continuing efforts on 6A and 6B. However, vegetation issues in the rainforest pose additional challenges, he said, adding that despite them, WAPA aims to restore power to 75 percent of customers on St. Croix by the end of Wednesday while ensuring safety remains a priority.
In terms of water services, Knight reported that on St. Thomas, a main break near the airport and Bournefield has been repaired, and while some leaks persist, power has been restored to pump stations, with full pressurization expected before nightfall. On St. Croix, pump stations are awaiting the restoration of feeders, after which the system will be pressurized.
Meanwhile, WAPA’s business offices are scheduled to reopen by noon on Thursday, with employees expected to report.
