Winter Storm Knocks Out Power To Over 1 Million In Northeast
CONCORD, N.H. — Temperatures fell over the ice-coated Northeast on Saturday, where storm-related power failures had already plunged more than a million homes and businesses from Pennsylvania to Maine into the dark and cold.
"If you don't have power, assume that you will not get it restored today, and right now make arrangements to stay someplace warm tonight," Gov. John Lynch of hardest-hit New Hampshire warned.
Officials expected to see more people in shelters Saturday night with temperatures forecast to dip into the teens. It was the third night without power for many.
Utilities in New Hampshire said it would likely be Thursday or Friday _ a week after the storm _ before all power is restored in the region, partly because of the sheer number of outages and partly because of the devastation.
"What is facing us is the apparent need to rebuild the entire infrastructure of some sections of the electrical delivery system," said Martin Murray, spokesman for Public Service Company of New Hampshire.
Crews across the region saw electric poles, wires and equipment destroyed. The extent of damage was unclear because some roads still were impassable.
"We'd put one line up, and it seemed like another would break," said Stan Tucker, operations supervisor in Springfield for Central Vermont Public Service Corp. "It seems like every line has multiple problems."
In New York, all but five roads managed by state highway officials had been cleared Saturday.
"Things are much better," Carol Breen of the state Department of Transportation said. "But there are still trees coming down because of ice on branches; they're heavy and they can break at any point."
About 1.4 million homes and businesses across the Northeast suffered power outages after a storm coated trees and wires with ice Thursday night into Friday. Most of the outages were in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Maine and New York. Somewhere around 800,000 appeared to remain without power Saturday evening, although some utilities weren't regularly updating their numbers or were reporting combined outages for multistate territories.
Four states declared either limited or full states of emergency.
At its peak Friday, more than 430,000 customers were without power in New Hampshire, the worst power outage in state history. That was down to about 258,000 Saturday night based on late updates.
Because the outages were so widespread, the affected states looked hundreds of miles away for help. Utility crews were en route to the Northeast from as far away as Michigan, Virginia and Canada.
At least four deaths appear to be related to the storm. A Danville, N.H., man who lived in a camper died of carbon monoxide poisoning from the generator he was using after his power went out Thursday night. A couple in their 60s died in Glenville, N.Y., when a gas-powdered generator running in an attached garage filled their house with carbon monoxide, police said Saturday.
The body of a Marlborough, Mass., public works supervisor was recovered from a reservoir Saturday afternoon, a day after he went missing while responding to tree limbs down by an ice storm.
Lynch and Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick declared states of emergency and called up members of the National Guard. Lynch also requested a federal emergency declaration and said the government already had sent generators, cots and other supplies.
New York Gov. David Paterson declared a state disaster emergency to speed assistance to 16 upstate New York counties.
Maine Gov. John Baldacci declared a limited emergency, allowing utility crews to work longer hours.
Utility officials said they anticipated more outages during the weekend as drooping trees and branches shed ice and snap back into their original positions, potentially taking out more power lines.
As line crews worked in hand-numbing cold, residents bundled up and hunkered down around fireplaces, stayed with friends or relatives, stood in line at stores for generators or went to shelters.
"I still don't have power. I can't shower, I can't cook, I can't do much of anything," Debbie Reed, 57, of Rochester, N.H., said Saturday.
She went to the Rochester Middle School shelter Friday afternoon when she started seeing her breath in her apartment.
"My plan is to go home and see how long I can stand it. If the power isn't back on by tonight, I'll come back here," she said. "It's so cold I can only stand it for so long."
In Ridge, N.H., recreation department director Peggi Brogan said turnout at a shelter was sporadic Saturday with people coming in to get food and warmth and then going back to brave their homes.
"We don't know what to expect," she said. "I think a lot of people are afraid to leave their homes because they are afraid their pipes will freeze. But, it's hard to say what's going to happen over the next few days."
Amy Raymond, 74, a retired town employee from Rindge, planned to spend the night at the shelter.
"I have an apartment, but there's no heat, no lights, no water. I spent last night there, but after going through that, I decided not to do it again," she said.
Retired auctioneer Ed Stevens, 88, also came to the shelter.
"I guess if it's between here and freezing to death in my own house, I'll take here," he said.
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Associated Press writers Beth LaMontagne Hall in Rochester, N.H.; Steve LeBlanc and Rodrique Ngowi in Boston; Jerry Harkavy and Clarke Canfield in Portland, Maine; Wilson Ring in Montpelier, Vt.; Stephanie Reitz in Hartford, Conn., contributed to this report.
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DAVID TIRRELL-WYSOCKI | December 13, 2008 11:21 PM EST |
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