Post-Irene, Utterby Road Makes Quick Recovery

As Irene moves on to bigger and better places, Malvernites have already begun the cleanup. Despite the storm's departure, residents are not letting their guards down and are taking measures to insure the safety of their homes and families.

"I'm moving my car out of the way now… but we're more worried about those powerlines," said Dennis Doherty, who notified the town of two split trees hovering dangerously near powerlines on and near his property.

Malverne police, scouting the aftermath, stopped on Utterby Road to survey Doherty's dilemma. Their routine surveillance turned into a rescue mission after finding a weak baby squirrel who had fallen from a nest. Transforming a shoebox into an ambulance, the officers left to bring the squirrel to an animal hospital and to continue their inspection of the Irene aftermath.

Utterby Road seemed to escape with relatively minimal damage, but many are happy they prepared for the worst.

"Mother nature could have left a permanent mark," said Susie Lee of Utterby Road, who housed several relatives who were evacuated from Long Beach and Island Park.

"My hope is that we don't become complacent when another situation arises with similar circumstances… Look on the bright side. Now we have all this great survival food, like chips and MnMs!"