Four days after a historic storm with hurricane-force winds dumped nearly three feet of snow on Plymouth, residents and emergency workers were still struggling to dig out.
Utility workers expected to restore power to 99% of customers by midnight; town inspectors were touring to make sure roads are passable, and essential businesses throughout Plymouth – from grocery stores to hardware stores – began to open. Sunny skies and milder weather helped, and with temperatures expected to reach the mid-40s this weekend, a return to normal is likely to be accelerated.
As of Thursday afternoon, authorities said there had been no fatalities despite around-the-clock emergency calls flooding dispatch services.
Plymouth County Sheriff Joseph McDonald said his communication center received a record 772 calls to 911 and dispatched 653 police calls and 442 fire calls during that time.
“Elderly folks trapped in their homes with no heat, people trapped in their cars, a car in the ocean, carbon monoxide alarms, a house fire, wires on fire, building collapses, motor vehicle accidents, and trees crashing into people’s homes,” McDonald said.
“Officers finished their shifts and slept on cots, many working a double shift to ensure people’s calls for help were answered,” he said in a written statement. “The challenges were non-stop with tow trucks, ambulances, fire trucks, and police cruisers all getting stuck in the deep snow and large wind-swept snowbanks.”
Plymouth Fire Chief Neil Foley cited the many calls his department received for carbon monoxide poisoning because people used generators too close to their homes or under covered porches, or because they were running vehicles inside garages to recharge electronics.
“BID Plymouth was absolutely inundated with patients,” he said. “They were doing the best they could, but the ER and the upper floors were overloaded with patients during the storm.”
Foley said firefighters responded to two home fires on Water Street and Manomet Point Road at the height of the storm Monday, and another on Ship Pond Road Tuesday.
Two of the fires were caused by downed power lines, he said. The third blaze is under investigation.
“It was difficult with the conditions on the roads trying to get enough trucks to the scene in a timely fashion,” Foley said. “Members of the fire department did an incredible job and each of those fires they were able to knock down fairly quickly.”
None of the fires resulted in injuries to civilians or firefighters, Foley said. One firefighter injured his ankle in another incident, he said.
“Crews have been holding strong, although they are tired after responding to hundreds of calls a day, trying to help everybody out,” he said.
Police Chief Dana Flynn said officers also made many well-being checks on residents at the request of family members who could not reach loved ones because of unreliable cellular service.
He said officers had to trek through large snow drifts off main roads, sometimes upwards of half a mile or more to check on people.
Flynn said one police vehicle had to be towed after another vehicle slid across the road and sideswiped the cruiser Monday on Long Pond Road. The officer hit his head on the steering wheel and was taken to Beth Israel Deaconess-Plymouth Hospital for evaluation. He has been released and is back on duty.
“Everybody’s running on no sleep and doing our best to ensure that services are kept up with in the town of Plymouth,” said Plymouth Police spokesman Capt. Mark Higgins.
By Thursday morning, 90 to 95 percent of public streets were passable, said Town Manager Derek Brindisi. For the first time, he said, the town employed four snow inspectors to observe streets to make sure they are passable.
As streets opened and power was restored, businesses began to reopen, including Market Basket and several businesses on Main Street, including Setting the Space, Domino’s Pizza, and Marathon Sports. The popular Plimoth General Store was open but not serving food. The post office on Main Street also was open. Season’s Corner Market on Home Depot Drive is also open – although traffic lights there were not working Thursday afternoon – as is G Pub on Carver Road.
Some restaurants will take longer to ramp up operations. Brindisi said he has spoken to owners who lost all their refrigerated and frozen food to spoilage after losing power.
School officials on Thursday were still trying to figure out whether classes will resume Monday.
“We continue to meet regularly with our facilities team, DPW, police, fire, and the Emergency Operations Center as part of our coordinated Return-to-School planning process,” said Superintendent Christopher Campbell in an email.
Among the critical factors are restoration of power, road conditions, assessments of buildings, including roofs, HVAC systems, pipe issues, secure access points, and the impact on the community, including displaced families staying at the shelter at Plymouth North High School, Campbell said.
School staff are conducting safety reviews to make sure heat, electricity, fire alarm and sprinkler systems are working, and continuing to remove snow from parking lots, sidewalks, entrances, and bus lanes. They are also reviewing the accessibility of bus routes and confirming that drivers are available.
Brindisi said the Department of Public Works is working with the school system to identify intersections where the corners must be cleared of snow to make room for school bus stops. He said he hoped the schools could reopen Monday.
Power has been restored to all town buildings except Memorial Hall, Brindisi said, but municipal buildings remain closed because of limited parking downtown. Once the DPW has removed enough snow from downtown, Town Hall and other town buildings will reopen. A parking ban remains in effect downtown and in North Plymouth, though it did not appear to be being enforced Thursday afternoon.
Some residents were still facing the most elemental challenge of huddling in dark and cold homes Thursday. Eversource reported 3,199 Plymouth customers remained without power as of 2:57 p.m. Thursday – about 9%.
The utility predicted 99% would be restored by 11:45 p.m. Thursday.
Fred Thys can be reached at fred@plymouthindependent.org. Independent Reporter Andrea Estes contributed to this report.