Winter storm brings headaches to Fitchburg

Thursday’s storm brought snow, sleet, and headaches to Fitchburg.

“I’ve seen a lot of storms, but believe me my body is telling me it’s something, believe me, believe me, believe me. I tell ya oh. It’s a lot of work,” said Pamela Chapman

Chapman has cleared a lot of snow in her 75 years, and she says, if she’s learned anything it’s that when there’s sleet, you have to get to it early.

“I’m an old New Englander, so I got a good month’s worth of groceries in, including powdered milk. So, if I don’t get out right away, no worries. You have to be prepared,” Chapman said.

Over on Fitchburg’s Mechanic Street, Steve Ouellette is taking it slow.

There’s so much hard-packed snow and ice, there’s just no other way.

“Oh, it’s all frozen you got to chop it with the ice chopper then shovel it. Chop, shovel, big pain in the butt,” Ouellette said.

When morning broke, quite a few Fitchburg drivers got a nasty surprise when they found out their cars were towed overnight in violation of an overnight Winter Parking Ban.

But it turns out there was confusion over when the notice was actually posted to the city’s website so the city is now offering refunds to those who were towed and ticketed.

It’s just another headache this late February storm is bringing to town.

Fitchburg is known for its hills, and these hilly streets are among the last ones to get plowed out.

And Felicita Chavez is being careful too.

She’s walking, in the street…

“It’s kind of bad. Try not to break an ankle by slipping. Try not to get hit by a car because there are curbs everywhere, yeah, it’s kind of horrible,” Chavez said.

So, a challenging day all around here in Fitchburg,

And looking at the forecast, after what was a mild winter, there are more challenging days ahead.

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