Wachusett Mountain reopens after power outage
PRINCETON - Wachusett Mountain is reopening Tuesday night after a power outage at the resort lingered into a second day.
The outage began Monday night, after what started as a bright day on the slopes.
"We had all this beautiful snow coming free from the sky. We've been making it like crazy and finally we got some natural snow. Of course, that's bringing all the phone calls and people. Then, the power goes out. How frustrating!" resort owner Carolyn Stimpson told WBZ-TV.
The lifts run on backup diesel engines, so everyone got down safely. But around 5 p.m. on Monday, Wachusett had to close.
Many of the nighttime customers, who'd purchased tickets ahead of time, were notified of the closure by text. Not everyone got the message in time.
"We saw a couple cars and I was like maybe we're just not in the right spot to get tickets?" said snowboarder Ashley Clift, who'd missed the social media notifications during her drive from Rhode Island.
Power remained out until Tuesday afternoon when the resort tweeted they would be opening at 4 p.m. Polar Express will remain closed as crews work on de-icing.
Stimpson said all tickets that had already been purchased before the power went out "will be held over until whenever people want to use them."
Thousands in Worcester County were still in the dark on Tuesday. Nearly 50% of the town of Harvard was without power.
"I came home to a somewhat, starting to flooding basement," Steve Belliveau of Princeton said. His sump pump stopped working when the power went out. "We spent the entire night last night with a bucket, and just kept bailing the sump pump hole."
National Gird said all the power should be restored by Tuesday night.
"We've seen tree branches on wires, wires down, and also in some cases, damage to poles. The thing about damage to poles is the repair can be very extensive," said National Grid spokesperson Chris Milligan.