North Shore residents frustrated after entire town loses power

IPSWICH, Mass. — There was not a single person who escaped the massive blackout in Ipswich caused by dangerous nor'easter winds and heavy snow.

The town's emergency management director himself went without power as he worked to help out others in the same situation.

"I haven't slept since 7 o'clock yesterday morning and I don't know when that's going to happen," said Lt. Jonathan Hubbard.

Many residents woke up to no power in their homes, which meant frigid temperatures inside after their heat went off.

"It's not worth it to me, I'm just getting over pneumonia, I don't need to go home and freeze," Tone Kenney said.

Kenney joined other neighbors at the town hall, every one of them in the dark.

Essex County Representative Brad Hill warned them to brace for the possibility of no power through some of the weekend.

"Plan ahead, it's going to be dark for a while," Hill said.

While some are still dealing with being cold and in the dark, others are trying to see the upside in the situation.

In nearby Newburyport, Frank LaBarba, owner of Nick's Pizza, realized investing in a generator last year was a great decision.

An eager line of customers, many who were unable to cook at home, were willing to wait 90 minutes LaBarba's pizza.

"It's been crazy, the phone's been ringing, we haven't been able to answer the phone for an hour because it's been so busy," said LaBarba.

By 9 p.m., most residents of Ipswich began getting their power back despite being told earlier in the day that the outage would persist through the weekend.

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