More than 350K without power after ice storm
Enlarge this image
More than 350K without power after ice storm
Related Article Links

BOSTON -- A winter storm pounded New England with pouring rain, sleet and ice, knocking out power to roughly 350,000 customers in Massachusetts, closing schools and roads and prompting Gov. Deval Patrick to declare a statewide state of emergency Friday.

The storm, which began Thursday night, coated trees with ice, causing branches to break onto power lines and roadways throughout central and western Massachusetts. By Friday, emergency crews raced to clean up the debris, but homes, businesses and even some courts in Worcester remained dark and officials warned it could be days before power is restored.

No major injuries were reported, but police were searching for a Marlborough Department of Public Works employee who went missing after reporting to work early Friday. Kevin Connolly was last seen about 5 a.m. near the department building.

Robert Warfield, a 72-year-old Worcester resident, said tree limbs and debris made it impossible to get through his street. Loud sounds from a breaking maple tree woke him up about 4:30 a.m. Friday.

"The limbs just kept snapping and they hit my roof six times," he said. "I've never seen anything like it in the 45 years I've lived here."

National Grid reported about 290,000 electric customers without power, mostly in the Worcester and Merrimack Valley areas, while Western Massachusetts Electric Co. put their outages at roughly 21,000 customers. Some towns, including Becket, Windsor, Cummington and Middlefield, experienced near blackout conditions.

"This is a really extreme situation we are experiencing," National Grid spokeswoman Jackie Barry said.

NStar, which serves mostly eastern Massachusetts, reported scattered outages of 7,000 customers. And smaller utility companies in towns also reported outages, said Peter Judge, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency.

"All of the resources at our disposal have been made available to try to get the roads clear and power restored," said Patrick, who declared the state of emergency and called up 500 members of the National Guard to help clean debris and clear access to downed power lines. "The earliest estimates that we have for power being restored is Monday, and I think many of us view that as an ambitious estimate at this point."

State officials urged residents without power to check into shelters and avoid heating their homes with makeshift devices.

The Red Cross, in conjunction with the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, has opened 23 temporary shelters across the state. In Holden, which had no power, some senior citizens on oxygen were taken to the hospital or a shelter opened at the town's senior center.

"Don't sit around the house and wait," Judge said. "It's still very grim out there. It's not going to be a quick fix."

The National Weather Service reported the storm system has passed through the state by Friday afternoon, but western Massachusetts would continue to see freezing temperatures until Sunday.

Georgine Sparr, the manager of Flynn's Truck Stop in Shrewsbury, said her customers in central Massachusetts complained of downed trees covered in ice, flooded roads and power outages -- but felt better once they had a cup of coffee.

"They got hit with everything at one time, except the snow, thank goodness," Sparr said.