Vineyard residents stock up on supplies

EDGARTOWN, Mass. -- With evacuations and business closings scheduled, many people on Martha’s Vineyard fought long lines at grocery stores Thursday to stock up on supplies.

Brian Henderson was one of dozens of shoppers who stopped by an Edgartown grocery store to load up before the storm.

“Just got some water and mostly like dry goods just in case the refrigerator is down,” said Henderson.

Some shoppers described a wild scene in the store.

“It’s chaos. Utter chaos…We were just in there standing in line for literally 20 minutes and people were just crazy, like fighting and arguing in line,” said one woman.

Some families said they expected power outages.

Many towns on Martha’s Vineyard declared a state of emergency, which meant roads and businesses must be closed by 2 p.m. Friday.

The Harbor View Hotel, which sits along the coast, is evacuating Friday afternoon. Guests will have to ride out the storm at The Edgartown School shelter.

The Steamship Authority cancelled over a dozen ferries to and from the Vineyard. The rest will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

(Copyright (c) 2010 Sunbeam Television Corp. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)