3,000 Plus Still Without Power

National Grid reports that more than 3,000 homes in Woonsocket are still without power this afternoon, two days after Tropical Storm Irene made it's way through the city.

Of the power company's 18,238 customers 3,396 homes were in the dark as of 4:30 p.m. Tuesday afternoon. A map of the area shows outages in the Winter Street area, and Morin Heights, as well as several near Cumberland Hill Road and some by Social Street. A traffic light by Pond Street has been temporarily replaced with stop signs to avoid hazards for motorists.  In Oak Grove, customers had power briefly yesterday afternoon before it blinked back out.

Although it's little comfort to those without hot food and showers, Woonsocket is faring significantly better than most of its neighboring communities. In Burrillville, exactly three homes have power this afternoon. A National Grid outage summary shows that of 2,573 customers, 2,570 do not have power. Things aren't much better in neighboring North Smithfield where 4,243 of the company's 5,655 customers are still in the dark. 

Woonsocket Police Chief Thomas Carey said that the experience he brings from his former job in St. Petersburgh, Florida has helped him to make the force uniquely prepared to handle such situations.

"Being out in Florida, you get a lot more experience with hurricanes," Carey said. The chief has worked through outages as long as three weeks, monitoring neighborhoods to prevent looting, supervising evacuations, and helping to guard downed lines and trees.

Even the power at the Woonsocket Police Station flickered briefly during Sunday's storm, although the station does have a generator and basic shelter for officers during emergencies. "Some officers had damage to their own properties so we had to give them time off."

"Going through an event like this, even though it's a horrible experience for some people, there's some benefit," Carey said. "It gives the force an opportunity to access their response. You want to serve the public as best you can."      

The city has also announced plans to pick up branches or tree limbs left behind after the storm. Residents are asked to place yard waste in trash barrels or paper yard waste bags to be picked up with other debris.

If you have tree stumps that need to be picked up call the Department of Public Works at 767.9209 to be added to the list for pick up.

Residents may also utilize the drop off site for yard waste on Canal Street in Blackstone through Saturday September 3 with or without a sticker.