Northern Massachusetts, Southern New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine were hit by a terrible ice storm Thursday night/Friday morning. Trees, overburdened by heavy ice, crashed through power lines and buildings in the affected area. An federal emergency disaster declaration has been declared in nine Massachusetts counties, and FEMA has been authorized to release emergency assistance. The affected MA counties are: Berkshire, Bristol, Essex, Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire, Middlesex, Suffolk, and Worcester. The devastation is especially bad in the Worcester and Fitchburg area and across the Merrimack Valley to Lawrence and into Northern Essex county.

I live in Northern Middlesex county. The aftermath of this ice storm resembles the aftermath of a tornado more than anything else.  There were trees down all around where I live. Some were thin, shallow-rooted trees like birch and "junk" maples. Those are relatively easy to clear out or move aside so work crews can collect them later. There were also a lot of big thick pine and oak and other trees that crashed down as well. Many of these trees dropped onto power lines, went through windows or roofs of houses or landed on car tops. Getting these trees or branches removed is a lot harder to do. The cleanup from this storm is going to last a long, long time.

My house was without power from early Friday morning through mid-afternoon Monday. Like so many others in New England, my family dealt with the storm by piling up logs for the wood stove and fireplace, wrapping pipes in the basement and praying that the insulation would keep out the freezing cold. My husband and I surveyed the damage on our lot and gathered information for the insurance adjusters. Our neighbors managed to get through the storm with the same minor damage we did. We were all fairly lucky.  There were many more in Massachusetts who were not so lucky and will be cleaning up from this storm for a long while.

The Lawrence Eagle Tribune has a webpage up simply called Ice Monster. There are pictures there that detail the almost unimaginable destruction the ice storm left behind. It mirrors scenes I saw in my town; roads made nearly impassable by tree branches, huge piles of wood and debris pushed into the side of the road, homes and businesses trying to operate on generators. The DPW workers have been working around the clock to try and clear the worst of the hazards and get schools up and running and roads cleared.  They have done incredible, exhausting work and deserve a lot of thanks and praise for their dedication.

For a lot of people who are already dealing with the effects of the bad economy, this is one more costly blow to absorb. I talked to families who had managed to put some money away for the Holidays who now have to redirect that cash to deal with the affects of the storm. The need is going to be even greater this year at local food pantries and assistance centers as people try to figure out how they are going to recover from the cost of this storm amid other financial hardships. I hope the spirit of generosity, patience and humor that I saw displayed in so many folks this past weekend will extend over the winter.  It will be sorely needed

The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) sent out these tips for dealing with the effects of this storm.  Share these with friends and neighbors who are still coping with storm-related problems.

Post-Storm Tips

MEMA offers safety tips to those who continue to be impacted by the recent Ice Storm.

• During the outage, do not open your refrigerator or freezer door. Food can stay cold in a full refrigerator for up to 24 hours, and in a well-packed freezer for 48 hours (24 hours if it is half-packed). After that time frame, you must consider disposing of this food.
• If you have medication that requires refrigeration, check with your pharmacist for guidance on proper storage during an extended outage.
• To keep pipes from freezing, wrap them in insulation or layers of newspapers, covering the newspapers with plastic to keep out moisture.
• Let faucets drip a trickle of water from the faucet farthest from your water meter to help keep pipes from freezing.
• If pipes freeze, remove insulation, completely open all faucets and pour hot water over the pipes, starting where they are most exposed to the cold. A hand-held hair dryer, used with caution, also works well.
• In order to protect against possible voltage irregularities that can occur when power is restored, you should unplug all sensitive electronic equipment, including your TVs, stereo, VCR, microwave oven, computer, cordless telephone, answering machine and garage door opener.
• Be extra cautious around downed or hanging electrical wires. Expect all wires to be live wires. Never attempt to touch or move downed lines. Do not touch anything power lines are touching, such as tree branches or fences.
• Do not become a 'spectator'. Continue to stay off streets in the affected areas, letting the crews do their jobs.
• Call 2-1-1 for non-emergency storm-related questions.