Hundreds of thousands of upstate New York residents who breathed a sigh of relief that Thursday’s ice storm wasn’t so bad got slammed Friday when their power went out.
And for thousands of them, stayed that way.
Monday, 3,349 National Grid customers in Schoharie County, most of them in the southern end, were still without power.
By Tuesday, that number was down to 635 customers; in nearby Otsego County, 250 customers were still waiting..
At the peak of the storm, National Grid said 229,000 of its customers were without power as high winds of more than 40 mph sent limbs and branches coated with ice on top of lines.
It’s expected to be mid-week before all power is restored even as a second round of power outages was reported Sunday and Monday.
“Summit, Jefferson, Fulton, and further south, like Middleburgh, Blenheim, Gilboa, and Conesville—those are the places hardest hit,” said Schoharie County Emergency Management Office Director Judy Warner Monday.
“I know National Grid is working hard, but it’s frustrating for these people. Then, there was a second round of outages…”
Ms. Warner said not that many people took advantage of the shelters—more and more homes have their own generators for emergencies like this, she said—but those who did were grateful for a warm place to eat, sleep and shower.
“We had a call from the Methodist minister in Esperance,” she said. “He had heat in his Sunday school and said his congregation would man it if we just brought down cots and blankets, so that fell into place.”
More troublesome, she said, was getting a generator to the Fulton Fire Department, where there was a need—but no power.
Ms. Warner praised fire departments like Middleburgh’s, where volunteers went door-to-door letting people know where the shelters were, giving them safety tips, and making sure any alternative sources of heat or power were running properly.
“Jefferson and Esperance did the same thing and there are probably others I’m forgetting,” she added. “It’s been a long few days.”
The storm prompted Governor David Paterson to declare a state disaster emergency to speed assistance to 16 counties—including Schoharie, Otsego, Delaware, Albany and Schenectady.
Schoharie County issued its own state of emergency Friday and with the Red Cross, opened a shelter at the Schoharie Elementary School.
The County Emergency Management Office also opened warming shelters at the Gallupville, Cobleskill, Schoharie, Middleburgh, Carlisle, Broome, Conesville, Jefferson, and Summit Fire Departments.
By Tuesday, shelters at Schoharie Central School and the Esperance UMC were closed, one at the West Fulton Fire Department had been added, and the Gallupville Lutheran Church and Huntersland Fire Department sites remained open.
The Department of Transportation called in some 1,200 staffers and 950 pieces of heavy equipment, including dump trucks, chippers, and log loaders to help with the storm response and local Highway Departments continued to clean up.
“We have made good progress in some difficult working conditions so far with nearly 132,000 homes and businesses restored since very early Friday morning,” said Christopher Root, senior vice president of Electricity Distribution Operations Monday.
“We have more than 750 crews dedicated to these restoration efforts, and hundreds of additional personnel behind the scenes supporting this massive effort.”
National Grid brought in additional crews from across New York State and as far away as Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey to help with the restoration efforts.