Tewksbury deals with widespread power outages

TEWKSBURY, Mass. -- A huge tree snapped in two across a road in Tewksbury, part of it dangling in the power lines. Scenes like that are the reasons 90 percent of the town was without power Sunday.

Families huddled inside trying to stay warm, gearing up for a Halloween that would be both white and dark.

“I have two cords of wood and its 74 degrees in hear right now and we have candles,” said Larry Donovan, a resident without power.

“We’re doing alright, we’re campers I guess. We’re able to keep the house warm and eat. We have the cooler out back full of food,” said Janice Donovan.

The lack of electricity forced many to go far to get necessities.

“We had to come all the way to Wilmington, probably about five miles. The gas stations are all out of gas down there,” said one traveler.

The wicked, early snow storm broke trees and in turn, power lines.

“I’ve got no power, no cable, no phone. We’re on the cell phones charging them in the cars to get going,” said Brian Lowery, a Tewksbury resident.

His entire yard was covered in downed tree limbs and leaves.

“It sounded like everything from gun shots to thunder and lightning. Think of all the sounds that shouldn’t be going on in your backyard,” added Lowery.

He’s one of many that are looking at spending a cold night at home without electricity.

Because of that, the town is setting up an emergency shelter to keep people warm. The Senior Center’s generator had not been working earlier, but is up and running so a temporary shelter is there for residents who need it.

“We have safeguards in place, we one goes we have to fall back to the secondary. This generator is functioning well and able to heat this place,” said Captain Jon Viscone of the Tewksbury Fire Department.

As people try to stay warm, they are cautioned to also stay safe as an entire Dracut family ended up in the hospital after trying to power their house with a generator.

They were running it in the garage and thought they had ventilated the area enough, but it was not.

The carbon monoxide detectors in their home went off and the entire family, including 3 children were taken to the hospital as a precaution.

“You’ve got to be careful with these generators. Carbon monoxide that comes off of it is more lethal than you think,” said Richard Pickard, the victim’s brother.

Many families forced to come together around the table and not the television this weekend.

Early estimates say it could be days before the power goes back on.

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