Vermonters dig out from nor’easter as power outages linger

SPRINGFIELD, Vt. (WCAX) - People across the region were continuing to dig out Wednesday following the late winter storm that walloped New England.

Thousands of Vermonters woke up without. As of Wednesday evening, there were still nearly 20,000 outages across the state. Line crews are hard at work restoring power, especially in those harder-hit areas in Windham, Windsor, and Bennington Counties.

Wednesday’s pass with the tractor was Chris Collins’ fourth time clearing off his driveway in the last 24 hours. “This is probably the second most snow since I’ve been here,” said the Springfield resident.

And because of the heavy, wet snow that brought down trees and power lines, the Collins hasn’t had electricity at his Woodbury Road home since Tuesday morning. “It had been snowing for a while and the power flickered. And after it flickered, I thought maybe a branch had gone across the limbs or something like that, and it came right back on. And about a half an hour later it went off,” he said.

Power crews have fanned out across the region. The work is often on rural roads where the trees are still blanketed with snow. As of Wednesday afternoon, Green Mountain Power had restored service to roughly 64,000 customers.

In some instances, it’s a quick fix, switching out a tripped fuse. But other issues are more intensive, requiring crews to snowshoe deep into the woods to look for the problem.

“It was definitely a challenging 48 hours,” said Springfield Public Works Director Jeff Strong. “We probably had at least 20 trees down in different locations. Some may have been pushed out of the way by the power or the loader but some needed to be cut, too.”

Springfield schools remained closed Wednesday.

Back at Chris Collin’s house, the snow removal continued and the wood stove was replenished. “I’m fixed for heat and there is enough food in the refrigerator and the freezer to get by,” he said.

Green Mountain Power says they have triple the number of crews out on the roads and will continue working until all of the lights are turned back on.

SHELTERS OPEN

If you need a place to stay warm, two shelters are open.

One is at Brattleboro High School at 131 Fairground Road in Brattleboro and the other is at Chroma Technology at 10 Imtec Lane in Bellows Falls.

You can also call 211 if you need help.

PARKING BANS

Winter parking bans are in effect in Burlington and Winooski.

The city of Burlington says nearly 30 employees with Public Works are clearing the streets and sidewalks. You can park in city-owned garages for free. Click here for more details.

In Winooski, the overnight parking ban will continue until 7 a.m.

Cars left on city streets will be towed at the owner’s expense.

NORTHEAST DIGS OUT

It’s not just our region cleaning up Wednesday. People all across the Northeast are still digging out, with the storm prompting hundreds of school closings and leaving thousands without power.

During the worst of the storm, more than 2,000 flights were canceled in the region, many of them at Boston Logan International Airport.

Related Stories:

Storm brings winter-lovers a welcome reprieve

Burlington residents make the best of the snow

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