By Russ Tarby
Contributing Writer
At approximately 1:10 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 2, a large maple tree growing on the west side of Second Street in the village of Liverpool suddenly fell easterly into the street, pulling up its own roots, blocking traffic and pulling down utility cables, causing a village-wide power outage. National Grid crews responded and restored power to much of the village within 90 minutes. They remained at the scene late into the evening while the tree was removed.
Power was not restored at Johnson Park until about 9 p.m. so that night’s concert by Grupo Pagan Lite had to be canceled. The tree, which stood some 65 feet tall, was located in front of 313 Second St., at the corner of Sycamore Street, directly across from the historic Gleason Mansion. It’s unclear what caused the tree to fall, but observers noticed rotting in the exposed trunk and root system.