Published in the March 6, 2018 edition.
By MARK SARDELLA
WAKEFIELD — Even with another storm about to hit tomorrow, thousands of homes and businesses in Massachusetts remained without power today, several days after a major nor’easter struck the East Coast.
Wakefield DPW Director Richard Stinson said that his crews were already preparing for the next storm, which is expected to dump 6 to 10 inches of snow on the region starting tomorrow and continuing into Thursday.
Local residents faced a massive cleanup following the last storm, which downed trees and power lines and kept police, firefighters, DPW and Municipal Gas and Light Department crews busy all weekend. Other towns around the region fared even worse, dealing with flooding and forced school cancellations. Some coastal communities in Massachusetts were bringing in heavy equipment to clear sand, rocks, trees and other debris blocking waterfront neighborhoods.
Fierce winds and high tides damaged dozens of homes in Scituate, where on Monday water still filled yards and rocks blocked streets. Quincy is sending trash trucks through the hard-hit neighborhoods all week to pick up trash.
Even as the cleanup is underway, another storm is bearing down on the region, albeit a much different beast.
“There’s going to be a lot more snow over a wider area,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Lenore Correia, in Taunton, Massachusetts. The forecast is for 8 to 12 inches of snow west of Boston and south into Rhode Island and Connecticut, she said.
The good news is that the winds won’t be as strong and there is less risk of coastal flooding.
Stinson said that DPW crews will be doing the same preparation that they always do prior to a storm, attaching plows, filling sanders and fueling trucks. He said that crews will go out and pre-treat roads early and will be ready when the time comes to start plowing.
He noted that the DPW currently has a couple of pieces of equipment down but will re-adjust as needed with other equipment and private contractors as they determine who and what is available.
Stinson said that the town has spent $781,066 for snow and ice removal so far this year, exceeding the $750,000 that was budgeted. He submitted a request for a $200,000 overdraft yesterday, with yet another storm forecast for next week and four to five weeks of winter remaining on the calendar.
Stinson has long maintained that a realistic annual budget for snow and ice removal would be $1,257,186. He said that the DPW planned for 20 sanding/salting operations this year and seven plowing events. He said that as of yesterday, there had been 18 events, six of which involved plowing. He noted that the town has seen 44 inches of snow fall this year so far.
The Associated Press also contributed to this report.
