Autumn nor'easter rocks Plymouth - could take four to five days to restore power to town

Plymouth - Beloved trees toppled from their roots downtown. Towering pines snapped 40 feet in the air in wooded neighborhoods. Telephone poles broken in a line at their peaks.  

The heavy winds that battered Plymouth early Wednesday took a historic toll, shutting down dozens of roads and cutting power to more than 90 percent of the community. It was still at 75 percent at the end of the afternoon. 

Fire Chief Ed Bradley said the powerful northeaster packed wind gusts of more than 80 miles per hour in neighboring towns. Plymouth fire crews were too busy answering emergencies throughout the morning to track the numbers at the storm’s predawn peak, but gusts still reached 55 mph locally early Wednesday afternoon. 

From 2:30 to 10 a.m., the Fire Department had 18 crews responding to calls for downed trees, downed wires, pole fires, carbon monoxide alarms and the like. At any given time, there was a backlog of at least a dozen calls waiting for assistance, Bradley said. 

Trees fell on at least eight cars or houses, but no related injuries were reported. At one point, at least 40 local roads were closed, including Warren Avenue near the entrance to Plymouth Beach, and Main and Water streets downtown.  

Two highly visible trees fell victim to the storm in Shirley Square at Main, Court and North streets. The trees were ripped from the ground by their roots, falling into the road. 

Bradley said he’d heard reports that at least one car was stranded in high water on Warren Avenue. The road flooded and washed out near the beach before dawn, despite astronomically low tides.  

The state was trying to fix and reopen the road Wednesday afternoon, despite the likelihood of another washout in the evening. 

Bradley said the biggest problem will be recovering from power outages, which could not start until the winds receded to less than 50 mph.  

As of noon Wednesday, 92 percent of the town was without power. Bradley said Eversource had 28 damage assessment teams in town to identify how to address the outages. Another 52 Eversource line crews were prepared to start working as well, but Bradley said he was told it could take days - 92 to 120 hours, or four to five days - to completely restore power in town.  

The hospital was first priority. Bradley said the medical facility was already starting to fill with people who need access to power for specialized medical care. Bradley said the town was also working with the American Red Cross to set up an emergency shelter, likely at Memorial Hall, for others who lost power or had to find shelter because of the storm.  

Local schools made an early decision to close Wednesday. Supt. Christopher Campbell said the storm's severity was obvious when he made the call to cancel Wednesday's classes at 5 a.m. "It was a mess," he said.  

The schools weathered the storm fairly well, he said, with only some leaks in buildings that were being repaired. But power would need to be restored and roads opened to traffic before classes resume.  

Campbell said that decision would be made Wednesday night, but as of mid-afternoon, he was not optimistic that schools would be in session Thursday. 

"We're being prioritized in terms of getting power back. It will depend on how much work they get done," he said.  

And indeed, schools were closed for Thursday.