North Kingstown Slowly Coming Online

Slowly but surely, North Kingstown is coming back online after Hurricane Irene barreled through the region on Sunday. At around 4 a.m. Tuesday, power was restored at and the , according to Town Manager Michael Embury.

Town hall is back open for today, but the senior center will remain closed as employees clean up and restock. Most of Wickford remains dark at this time, though the is up and running.

also saw its power restored this morning. is still without as well as part of . For now, Superintendent Phil Auger says there have been no changes to the school start date. He will decide whether to push the date back a third time this afternoon.

The is still without power and is closed for the day. Both the fire and police departments are still running on generators.

At this time, 4,500 North Kingstown residents and businesses are without power – nearly 37 percent of the town.

"You have two different worlds out there," said Embury. "You have sections of towns that were devastated as a result of the that came through. Others, you have some damage and problems with wires but nothing serious."

Though Embury is not sure what damage costs will be, he is certain that cleanup after Hurricane Irene will be a long process.

"Our guys are going to be doing this for a good month," said Embury.

Just before noon on Tuesday, crews reopened Fletcher Road. According to the North Kingstown Police Department, North Quidnessett Road (where a tornado allegedly crossed the road) will remain closed for the next few days as crews clear debris. Essex Road near Potter Road is also closed at this time.

The town's rapid response team and building inspector have already assessed all structures in North Kingstown. According to Embury, only one home has been condemned at this time after a tree fell on it during the height of the storm on Sunday.

"We literally almost had no damage to structures," said Embury. "I think that's pretty amazing."

Municipal websites in town are also down. Most e-mails for town, school, police and fire departments are also not functioning. The provider of the site is experiencing these problems across the state.