WILTON, Conn. Once the wind stopped howling and the sideways rain ceased falling, a group of boys headed into Wilton Center to check out the damage from Tropical Storm Irene.
Billy Curley, 17; Thomas McDevitt, 13; and Patrick Curley, 12, stood in nearly knee-deep water in what was once the Fairfield County Bank building's rear parking lot and surveyed the scene.
"It's never been like this," said McDevitt.
Billy Curley said maybe it wasn't that different from a storm in March that nearly turned River Road into a river. Although the overflow may not be unique, that didn't stop some Wilton residents from strolling down River Road to get a close-up view of Irene's wrath.
Plenty of people, including Juliana Serraillier and John Conte from Wilton Crest, headed out after growing tired of sitting at home with no electricity. They weren't sure when they lost power, but it was gone when they woke up Sunday morning. And despite Irene's wind, they slept through the night, so they thought the buildup to the storm was a lot of hype, said Conte.
"Until we came out we didn't think it was that bad until we saw the river," he said. Nearly every inch of the parking lots between the River Road buildings and the waterway had shifted from solid asphalt to flowing water.
Phil Theoharides brought his children down from their home on Warncke Road to the Center for a better view of Irene's damage.
"There was a lot of wind, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be," said Theoharides. "We're out of power and the road has three or four branches down on it, but that's about it."
Avalon Springs resident Judy Cassese agreed Irene didn't seem to pan out as predicted.
"We never lost power," she said. "There are some branches down, but it's nothing like we thought it would be."
What did you think of Irene? Was it as bad as you expected? Or was it nothing like forecasters predicted? Leave a comment below. Find TheDailyWilton.com on Facebook and like us.
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