Corrected and updated Dec. 26, 2008
Vehicles drive down Massachusetts Ave. past ice, trees, and downed power lines last Friday after Thursday night’s ice storm left more than 140,000 households in Worcester County without power at the height of the outages—including more than 1,500 homes in Harvard. (Photo by Lisa Aciukewicz) MORE PHOTOS
A week after a destructive ice storm knocked out power to nearly the entire town of Harvard and felled countless trees and branches, scores of utility poles and wires, the town continued the daunting process of recovery and inched toward normalcy. Schools reopened in town on Thursday and electricity had been restored to most areas of town. However, school bus service in town has been suspended until Jan. 5. A shelter at Bromfield School closed Wednesday at noon, after housing between 14 and 35 residents in addition to emergency workers from Friday to Wednesday and feeding many more three hot meals a day. There were no deaths or serious injuries in town attributed to the storm or its aftermath.
Utility crews from several states and Canada, local emergency services employees and volunteers, school staff, town government personnel, students, and residents worked around the clock to clear blocked roads, tend to the elderly and others in need, and restore the electricity, telephone, and cable infrastructure.
As bad as the damage was, Harvard was fortunate to be on the eastern edge of a large swath of Massachusetts and New Hampshire devastated by the storm’s heavy ice coating and high winds. Just a short drive to the east were municipalities that suffered no more than heavy rain and localized flooding, with stores and other services open for business as usual. Towns to the north and west of Harvard experienced greater destruction, and National Guard troops assisted in the cleanup and distributed food and water to residents. Several school systems have canceled classes until Jan. 5, including Lunenburg, North Middlesex Regional, and Quabbin Regional.
—Selectman Peter Warren
Rain began freezing on trees, utility poles, and wires late Thursday afternoon, Dec. 11. During the night, the weight of rapidly accumulating ice snapped branches, trees, and poles, blocking most roads and knocking out power to all but the northernmost sections of town. It was a sleepless night for many residents, as the steady loud cracks of breaking trees combined with the crashes of falling branches on houses and vehicles. By daybreak, the town was powerless, virtually impassable, and encased in a dazzling cloak of ice.
The town’s emergency services—police, fire, and ambulance—and personnel from the Department of Public Works moved quickly to respond to the rapidly changing conditions Thursday evening.
“Our mission Thursday night was to be able to respond to emergencies,” said Police Chief Ed Denmark on Monday.
Of primary concern were elderly residents without heat or lights. Working from a list of elderly residents quickly provided by Council on Aging Director Ginger Quarles, police and other emergency personnel began checking on these residents. Throughout the night, downed trees, branches, and power lines made the task increasingly difficult.
“At one time or another, every main road in Harvard was closed,” said Denmark.
A tree fell on the Willow Road power lines, pulling and snapping the Still River utility pole with it. A massive oak fell across upper Depot Road. One by one Slough, Bolton, Stow, East Bare Hill, West Bare Hill, Littleton, Old Littleton, Pinnacle, Mass. Ave., and other streets became impassible. High winds sheared off the tops of many pines at higher elevations. On Park Lane, trees were entirely stripped of branches.
At the height of the storm, the ambulance squad attempted to respond to an urgent 911 call for a medical emergency a few miles from town center. Every route the squad tried was blocked. The ambulance followed a fire engine as both vehicles inched forward, with firefighters and EMTs cutting and pushing aside downed limbs, avoiding fallen wires, and dodging falling branches. As one road after another proved impossible to navigate, a dispatcher passed on what he knew about the state of other possible routes. An hour and a half after the 911 call and after several near misses from falling branches, the emergency team finally reached the patient; he was taken to the hospital, and survived.
Some elements of this story would play out again and again over the next 72 hours: Harvard professionals and volunteers working together to ensure the safety of townspeople.
Communications
With normal communication channels crippled, town officials used a variety of means to get information out.
After an emergency management meeting Friday morning, Board of Selectmen Chairman Leo Blair used the school’s Connect-Ed phone-calling system and the PTO’s e-mail list to inform residents about road conditions and school closings, and to ask people to limit driving to essential needs while crews worked on the roads and power lines. School Superintendent Thomas Jefferson estimated that the calls and e-mails reached two-thirds of school families.
Emergency management posted daily updates in the Bromfield School cafeteria, the Public Safety Building, and on the Town Hall door.
With many telephone landlines out of service, cell phones became a primary means of communication among residents and workers. When asked how the departments were communicating, DPW Director Richard Nota held up his cell phone.
Denmark said that before the storm, the Police Department was looking into instituting a “reverse 911” for the town, where police could telephone residents using an automated system to distribute emergency information. “We have the money for it now,” he said, “but it requires a commitment from the town for annual funding or grant funding.”
Dispatchers at the Public Safety Building were the communications hub for emergency services, answering incoming 911 and nonemergency calls and communicating with police, firefighters, and ambulance squad members on duty or on call. They fielded numerous calls about power lines, road conditions, and when power would return. At times, all four of the Public Safety Building’s incoming call lines were staffed and busy.
The town’s five dispatchers usually work single eight-hour shifts. Friday morning, Denmark doubled, and at one point tripled, the number of dispatchers on duty and increased shifts to 12 hours. These shifts were staggered with four-hour overlaps to maintain information continuity. Police officers also worked 12-hour shifts, and as needed.
“Our initial response is that everyone goes until the situation is stabilized,” said Denmark.
Several times Thursday night and Friday morning, the dispatcher was the critical link relaying incoming reports to emergency service staff responding to calls or checking on the elderly.
“You develop a map of the town in your head,” said 25-year veteran dispatcher Pat Natoli. She noted that multitasking is essential and that it becomes second nature to mentally keep track of everyone on duty as he or she moves around town.
“The dispatchers and the highway department are the unsung heroes in this story,” said Denmark.
Fire Chief Bob Mignard attributed Harvard’s unified response to professionalism across the services, an in-place response-management system, and a lack of egos. “Everyone just did what they needed to do,” he said.
“A small town’s lack of resources forces it to be resourceful,” added Denmark.
“This is the real Harvard,” said Selectman Peter Warren. “Everyone should be proud how Harvard stepped up to the plate.”
On Friday morning, Nota contracted several tree companies to assist in clearing roads.
Everywhere the recovery procedures were the same. Road crews and tree companies cleared the roads before utility crews could begin repairing lines and replacing utility poles. Verizon expected to replace 40 utility poles with help from out-of-state crews, many of which brought their own poles to augment Verizon’s substantial but insufficient supply. Utility crews from as far as Illinois, Ohio, Virginia, and Tennessee assisted as they also kept an eye on forecasts for bad weather in their home states.
Once poles were in place and roads and downed lines cleared, National Grid began repairing electrical lines along major roads, then side streets, and then house by house. Verizon began restoring landline telephone service. Some of the more isolated areas of town were still without utilities on Thursday.
Shelter at Bromfield
Once a state of emergency was declared Friday morning, the task of setting up an emergency shelter in the Bromfield School cafeteria and hallways began. Mignard and Natoli arranged to borrow an emergency supply trailer from Maynard that included 100 cots and blankets and individual bags of personal care items. The school had electrical power provided by generators.
Residents needing emergency shelter began arriving at the school Friday, some on their own and others with help from EMTs, firefighters, and police, as they continued to check homes on Quarles’ list. EMTs transported a few elderly residents to a local nursing home.
Bromfield’s “Chef Paul” Correnty arrived Friday at the school to set up food service. With help from numerous volunteers, Correnty provided three hot meals a day, along with nonstop coffee, tea, and cocoa for everyone who came in.
Elizabeth Roy was the first town volunteer to show up, offering to make sandwiches or whatever was needed. Every morning through Wednesday Roy arrived early to help, while her husband Rene volunteered with road clearing.
At times, a shelter visitor might find Bromfield School Principal Jim O’Shea cutting vegetables; he had two bandaged fingers to prove it.
“I’m joining him in solidarity,” said Chef Paul, holding up a bandaged thumb.
History teacher Kevin Foster cooked stuffed shells Saturday morning, as his daughter Abigail baked cookies and his wife Beth sliced bread supplied by the General Store. Several other entire families volunteered their time at the shelter. In fact, so many townspeople came forward Saturday afternoon that volunteers had to be turned away.
School nurse Colleen Nigzus came to assist shelter residents and stayed along with her two children until the shelter closed on Wednesday. Sandy May, a former ambulance squad member, was on hand to assist throughout the five days.
High school EMTs staffed the shelter signup table, answered questions, and directed people to two showers in the coaches’ offices and to available water.
Although many people had fireplaces and woodstoves they could use for heat and could stay in their homes, most homeowners found themselves out of water by the weekend. A steady stream of people filled their water containers from Bromfield’s kitchen sinks. Sunday found a few others breaking ice on the pond to get water for flushing toilets.
Without heat at their Old Littleton Road home, Tom and Barbara Cerva came to the shelter Saturday night after seeing it listed in the Telegram & Gazette.
“It has been absolutely wonderful. I’m probably echoing 99.9 percent of the people here. You really have a sense of belonging. People go out of their way to be helpful,” said Barbara when asked about her experience. “We’re already planning a reunion next year.”
The Cervas planned to return home Wednesday when electricity was restored.
On Wednesday morning, Mignard, Quarles, and other public safety officials were working case by case to find a place for a handful of remaining shelter residents. Mignard personally called relatives of shelter residents to arrange housing. As a last resort, the Hildreth House was being made available Wednesday night for those with no other place to stay.
Costs
State legislators on Tuesday estimated that the cost of cleanup and repair in Massachusetts would top $20 million. They hope that federal funds will eventually pay for 75 percent of these costs and are considering tapping the state’s “rainy day fund” to pay for the remaining 25 percent. Harvard’s Finance Department is tallying the town’s storm-related costs. The total town expenditures will solidify as the scope of the cleanup becomes clearer in coming days.
Editor’s note: This article has been corrected and updated. The original article incorrectly reported that Ken Foster helped out at the Bromfield shelter. The helper was, in fact, history teacher Kevin Foster.
