Falmouth Still In The Dark And Cold As Storm Recovery Continues

FALMOUTH, MA — The town and much of the Cape continue to reel from effects of the blizzard that struck eastern Massachusetts this week.

More than 18 inches of snow and howling winds pummeled Falmouth on Monday, downing trees and power lines and making travel all but impossible. On Wednesday morning, 19,000 local customers of utility Eversource remained without electricity, the company reported – 75% of customers here.

Public works crews “have been working nonstop to clear the roadways,” town officials said late Tuesday. But they also estimated 50% of the roads were still obstructed by snow and a total of 155 fallen trees.

Eversource said it’s deployed 108 crews to Falmouth to restore power. However, for most customers there’s no estimate of when that will be.

Meanwhile, the town has opened a warming center at the Lawrence School, 113 Lakeview Ave. Food is not available at the center, which closes at 9 p.m. Falmouth High School is unavailable for use due to the lack of electricity; a generator has failed there.

For overnight housing, officials said, there are regional emergency shelters at Barnstable Intermediate School and Dennis-Yarmouth High School.

“Our public works and public safety personnel are putting forth an extraordinary effort over an extended period of time to clear the roadways and meet the most acute public safety needs,” said Falmouth Town Manager Mike Renshaw.

“It is going to take some time to complete all the work necessary to return to normalcy. We thank the community for your patience and ask everyone to look out for their neighbors in the interim.”

This story was updated at 10:45 a.m. Wednesday.