Local News
The Cape is still recovering after the massive winter storm; thousands remain without power.
A crew works to remove a snapped utility pole by the Hyannis waterfront on Thursday. David L. Ryan / The Boston Globe
After Monday’s historic blizzard, traveling nurse Colleen Wright battled unplowed roads, downed trees and wires, and large snowdrifts across the Cape to reach her clients’ homes. Many are older adults who rely on her for medications and check-ins.
Her check-ins ultimately kept many residents from being left in the cold, without power or a way to communicate with their families.
“It’s getting pretty chilly,” Wright said Wednesday evening. “A lot of people are frail and thin, and it doesn’t take much for that cold to set in, and they can’t warm up.”
Earlier this week, intense winds blew across the Cape and southeastern Massachusetts, damaging power lines, taking out internet and cell towers, and creating dangerous snowdrifts that blocked residents in their homes.
The extreme weather posed an especially difficult situation for the population on the Cape. Cape Cod has a year-round population of about 230,000, with more than 40% of those over 60 years old.
According to Eversource, as of Thursday afternoon, less than 50,000 customers on the Cape remained without power, a significant decrease from earlier in the week, when nearly 160,000 people were without power.
Michael Dutton, the county administrator, said restoration efforts are ongoing, with four shelters in Provincetown, Harwich, Mashpee, and Barnstable remaining open, serving 200 people.
Dutton said that most of the folks in the shelters are elderly and have associated medical issues.
“That’s why we try to get people out of their homes who don’t have power,” he said.
Brewster Police Chief Heath Eldredge, who helps coordinate Barnstable’s regional emergency response, said in an email that most of the calls his office received on Monday were for trees, utility poles, and wires down on roadways.
After the storm, nearly 100% of Brewster was without power, Eldredge wrote.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, he wrote, it shifted to a high volume of wellness checks from family members and neighbors of older residents with whom they had lost contact.
Many of the nursing homes and assisted-living facilities on the Cape had limited power through generators, said Dutton. But many weren’t designed to run for three or four days. on Wednesday, fuel became an issue. But since then, first responders were able to make fuel deliveries through a coordinated effort.
Eversource is also prioritizing getting those facilities back online, he said.
The snow, which is 18 to 20 inches deep, is heavy, with even heavy-duty pickup trucks with plows having a hard time getting through it, Dutton said. But that still leaves driveways and walkways.
“This is where you see neighbors stepping up to the plate and helping neighbors,” he said, “which is really touching.”
That’s where Wright stepped in. Between Tuesday and Wednesday, she helped two clients get to a nearby shelter and called countless times to check in on others after she couldn’t reach their homes.
Wright described the journey as dodging downed trees and power lines. One of the trees she passed was even on fire.
When she finally reached some of her clients, she worried about how first responders would be able to reach them if needed.
Sometimes her knocks went unanswered, and she would later find out they were at a nearby hotel or shelter. One client was boiling water on the stove just to stay warm.
At times, random neighbors came out to help her access clients’ homes or help move them to safer places.
“The Cape is such a unique place,” said Wright. “It’s neighbor helping neighbor.”
Dutton agreed.
“The amount of folks that step up in a crisis and ask what they can do is pretty amazing,” he said. “People are willing to work around the clock to make sure their neighbors and people they don’t even know are OK.”
Beth Treffeisen is a general assignment reporter for Boston.com, focusing on local news, crime, and business in the New England region.
Sign up for the Today newsletter
Get everything you need to know to start your day, delivered right to your inbox every morning.
