The Aftermath of Irene: Trees, Wires Down in Hingham

Tropical Storm Irene struck Hingham Sunday, knocking down trees and wires and leaving thousands of Hingham residents without power.

On Sunday the strong wind gusts of Irene which reached up to 56 MPH, knocked down wires, trees, poles, and signs in every area of town.

“No one was spared,”  said Paul Heanue, the General Manager of the Hingham Municipal Light Plant .

According to Heanue, 3,000 Hingham residents lost power at sometime during the storm, with the majority of the outages occurring between 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.  HMLP employees were all working hard Sunday  to restore power in town. As of Monday, only 40-50 people in Hingham were still without power due to Irene’s wrath.  The street lights at Queen Anne's corner are also still without power.

On Hingham Patch’s Facebook Page, Delian DeYoung Wylie of Hingham said she lost power twice throughout the day. The first time, for 1 hour, and the second time for a total of 2 hours. Paula Mine of Hingham said her power flickered a few times but she was lucky not to lose it.  Almost every area was affected including the Hingham Police Department which relied on a generator while the department lost power several times during the day for a total of 3-4 hours.  But that was the least of their problems.

According to Police Sgt. Steven Dearth,  Hingham Police and Firefighters responded to 57 different calls  Sunday from residents reporting fallen trees, downed wires and property damage.  A total of 45 of those calls were made to the police department from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the peak of the storm.

A large tree fell in the middle of Beal Street as Hingham Fire Department was called to clean it up.  Tree limbs flew through Hingham Square. Cushing Street closed for a time due to a downed tree and wires. Several large branches fell on Central Street and East Street.  A tree knocked down wires on High Street, blocking traffic. Ward Street closed for a time due to a downed tree. A tree landed on a vehicle on Kilby Street.  On Old Country Road, a tree crashed into a telephone pole. On Park View Drive and Bayberry Road multiple large trees fell on houses.

Although Irene downgraded from a hurricane into a tropical storm, its wind gusts still showed plenty of power.  According to , Irene’s wind gusts reached a high of 56 MPH on Sunday in Hingham.

On Hingham Patch’s Facebook page and live blog, residents shared stories of what they did during the storm.  While many of them cooked large family meals, Hingham resident Carey Robinson and her two young children played candle pin bowling in their living room. 

With power outages and damages, residents were also welcomed to seek Shelter at Weymouth High School throughout the day and by Sunday evening,  the town opened Hingham High School as a shelter area.

On Monday, the Town of Hingham Department of Public Works (DPW) announced that residents of Hingham can dispose their tree and brush-related debris at the  temporary drop-off center in Bare Cove Park.  Residents will not be charged for this disposal and access to this area is from the Fort Hill Street entrance.  

This temporary drop-off center will be open: Tuesday August 30 through Friday September 2 from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. only.   Proof of Hingham residency will be required.