BARNSTABLE, Mass. — Cleanup crews are dealing with downed trees everywhere on the Cape that cut power to thousands. Thousands of Cape Cod residents woke up without electricity Wednesday morning after a nor’easter toppled trees and ripped down utility poles and wires.
Late Wednesday afternoon, the first signs of light appeared in Hyannis when our Boston 25 crews spotted the first traffic light we’d seen working all day. Utility crews were dispersed across the Cape waiting for winds to die down so they can turn the power back on.
In the meantime, the sound of chain saws filled the air on the Cape after powerful winds ripped some trees right out of the ground. In West Barnstable, landscapers stopped and volunteered to help clear debris from roads.
And cell service on the Cape was also knocked out for many.
“It’s been awful, blocked roads everywhere. We’re just trying to get everything cleared up so everyone can get through,” said Tim Welch, who works on a Barnstable landscape crew.
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“We don’t have any cell service. Can’t call anybody or text anybody,” said Brian Biggs, who is also a local landscaper.
In Sandwich, several roads were impassible, strewn with trees and limbs, as town crews worked relentlessly to clear the debris.
Utility crews replaced snapped poles and down wires, but much of their work was delayed as heavy winds continued through Wednesday night, making work in bucket trucks too dangerous. Listening to the raging winds, resident Mary Foley braced herself as she went to sleep, afraid her home might fall victim to the massive tree next to the house.
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“It was terrifying, absolutely terrifying,” Foley said. “I said, ‘Well, I’m just going to go to bed and say my prayers and give it to the Lord.’ And then, maybe an hour and a half later, I woke up to a thud. And sure enough, it was down.”
The tree had been uprooted but crashed to the ground in the opposite direction of a grateful Foley’s home. The power was knocked out, but her generator soon kicked on.
The winds were relentless. Boston 25 viewers sent in pictures of trees blown down and taking out power lines. And finding gas on the Cape was no easy task; without power, gas pumps would not work. In the rare places where there is electricity, there are long lines for fuel. One woman we spoke to drove miles with no luck.
“Start at Exit 10, then 6, 5, 4 and here again and to Hyannis, and nowhere. So I have two miles left and I’m not going anywhere,” said Cindy Mitchell from Harwich.
A constant line of customers kept workers at Canal Fuel in Sandwich busy all day. Workers kept the business running by powering their own generator, as customers arrived with their gas cans.
“Filling up as much gas as I can for the generator and the chainsaw to cut the trees down in my yard and just keep the house going,” said Nick Boucher.
Several thousand customers were still without power in Sandwich late Wednesday night, according to Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency. In Sandwich, Kathy Abreu didn’t get much sleep, as trees cracked and crashed around her property.
“I was awake all night long because it was really loud,” Abreu said. “It sounded like a freight train was going through, and all of a sudden, the house started to shake.”
Among the damage, electrical wires were ripped from the side of her home. The live wires lay draped over a truck in the driveway as Abreu and her family waited for utility crews to arrive.
The damage was so bad that some are comparing it to Hurricane Bob that ravaged the Cape back in 1991.
“I think is worse than Hurricane Bob. If you drive through Marstons Mills and you drive through Barnstable, there’s trees everywhere,” Welch said.
Getting power fully restored across the Cape will be a multi-day process according to Gov. Charlie Baker.
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