Shelters Open After Storm Leaves Thousands Without Power In NH
CONCORD, N.H. (CBS/AP) — Nearly 150,000 New Hampshire residents remained without power on Thursday night following the season's first snowstorm, and many were forced to head to emergency shelters.
The Public Service of New Hampshire reports more than 138000, down from over 170,000 overnight Many are in central and southern New Hampshire.
Unitil reports it had about 11,000 customers without power, down from a peak of 31,000. Most are in the Concord area.
Unitil said it hopes to have power back by Friday.
One couple spent their first Thanksgiving as husband and wife at Whole Foods.
"Everything is scratched, all plans are off" said Patti Kenyon. "I'm sure we won't forget this one."
Several shelters were open Thursday night in Allenstown, Campton, Laconia, Londonderry, Nashua and Rochester for people without power.
"We're packing all of our food up in coolers and putting them outside," said Juliette Gilbert, a Nashua resident without power. "My elderly mother-in-law lives here and we decided to send her over to the neighbors."
Neighbor Barbara Bishop, 80, said she and her husband decided to seek shelter when the temperature in their home dropped to 57 degrees.
"Well, it's warmer," she said. "We keep busy, we can read, we're playing solitaire."
The outages were caused not only by heavy snow bringing down tree branches onto power lines, but also car accidents into utility poles.
State police said late Wednesday that poor weather conditions had caused dozens of crashes and hundreds of vehicles to run off the road.
Authorities said five state police cruisers had been struck by motorists while parked at accident scenes.
At least one trooper was taken to the hospital with minor injuries.
(TM and © Copyright 2014 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2014 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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