Dec 15, 2008 7:05 am US/Eastern
Monday Thaw Could Lead To New Trouble
WORCESTER (WBZ) ―
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Ice Storm 2008 RT 56 Rutland
Rich Pinard/WBZ
Hundreds of thousands of households across Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire were still waiting for the power to come back on early Monday, days after one of the most damaging storms in local history.
Temperatures Monday will be at their highest in days, allowing for a thaw, and perhaps leading to more trouble.
POWER UPDATE
According to the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, about 118,000 customers in the state were still without power early Monday morning – about 89,000 of those are National Grid customers.
In New Hampshire about 138,000 customers were in the dark early Monday. That is down from a high of 340,000.
Power crews from several states and parts of Canada are working on local power lines.
Over the weekend, National Grid estimated that most of their customers would have power back by Monday night. PSNH said it would likely be Thursday or Friday before all power in New Hampshire is restored.
National Grid: Outages By County |
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PSNH: Power Updates |
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Resource: Winter Power Outage Safety
There is some concern that as ice thaws through the day Monday, trees may snap back into place, taking down additional power lines.
SCHOOL CANCELLED
Dozens of cities and towns were forced to cancel school for another day on Monday. Several have already cancelled classes in advance for Tuesday.
Check: School Closings
Eighty-eight communities have made local emergency declarations, Gov. Deval Patrick said in a statement Sunday, adding that he was monitoring the situation and working with state and local officials to ensure residents have access to the resources and assistance they need.
"We thank all the people who have been affected by the storm for their patience and for exercising care during the clean up," the governor said.
SEEKING SHELTER
Over the weekend, as the hours without power and heat grew longer, thousands of people opted to take advantage of local emergency shelters. About 2,200 people stayed in shelters in Massachusetts Sunday night. More than 1,000 sought shelter in New Hampshire.
STILL FACING OBSTACLES
Peter Judge of the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency said that access to downed power lines and poles remains the biggest obstacle for workers.
While the major roads are cleared, many secondary roads in rural areas remain blocked by fallen trees and tree limbs.
The state and local communities will be receiving some financial help for the cleanup. President Bush has signed a federal emergency disaster declaration for the effected counties.
Public Service Company spokesman Martin Murray said the company will have to rebuild the entire infrastructure of some sections of the electrical delivery system, but progress is being made.
At the height of power outages, 350,000 customers had been without power in Massachusetts. In New Hampshire, the number without power had soared as high as 340,000, the worst number in the state's history.
(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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