ANDOVER, Mass. -- Thousands of Andover residents are still waiting for the lights to turn back on three full days after wild weather wiped out power across town.
Strong winds late Sunday night and early Monday morning toppled trees, tearing down power lines and taking out electricity to nearly 80 percent of town.
School was cancelled for three days, as some buildings had no power and others were running on minimal generator power. Police announced school would reopen Thursday morning.
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By 5 p.m., on Wednesday, 30 percent of National Grid customers in Andover were still waiting for power to be restored.
Large tree branches were still strewn and wires hung low on some streets Wednesday, as utility crews worked around the clock on repairs.
On Bradley Road, where those broken trees and power lines made driving through impossible, resident Pam Saideh Smith was becoming frustrated with the wait, as she learned National Grid expected to restore power to her home by 11:45 on Thursday night.
“We’re camping out. We have two fireplaces,” Saideh Smith said. “And if it doesn’t come back on by tomorrow, we’re going to get a hotel, because we can’t do this. I mean, it was 42 degrees in the house this morning.”
Smith moved her 90-year-old father to her brother’s house before boarding her small dogs at their veterinarian’s office.
Other residents told Boston 25 News National Grid notified them their power would be restored sooner than the initial Thursday-night timeline.
Resident Kaye Devanna, who serves on the Andover Council on Aging Board, warmed up at the local senior center, which stayed open until 11 p.m., providing a warm space and hot soup for those without power.
“At home it’s 52 degrees, according to my thermostat, and it’s very chilly,” Devanna said. “And I have anemia, and I am very chilly without it being 52 degrees. So I just decided to come to the senior center when I got the robo call that they were open and they had heat.”
The Memorial Hall Library also remained open through 9 p.m., for residents to warm up and charge their mobile devices.
Police urged residents to be cautious on town roads and treat downed wires as live power lines.