By Madison Butkus
Hometown Weekly Reporter
Powerful wind guests brought in by the storm that hit Massachusetts this past Monday, December 18th turned out to be way worse than most of us imagined it would be. According to CBS News Boston, downed trees and power lines lead to more than 250,000 customers across the state to be left without power, some of which for over 24 hours or more.
Not only did this storm bring high winds, but it also brought extreme areas of flash flooding. Within the towns of Medfield, Dover-Sherborn, Walpole, Needham, and Westwood, all of this damage caused an array of road closures and massive cleanups needed.
Multiple reports came piling into the Medfield Police Department (MPD) on Monday, including downed wires at Elm on South, South near Curve, Pine at Maplewood and Maplewood at Scott. On Philip Street, the downed power lines produced a fire on the scene in which emergency personnel quickly responded. Additionally, MPD Cruiser 339 was struck by a falling tree while out on patrol during the storm but luckily no one was injured.
In Dover, the Dover Police Department (DPD) reported several live wires and road closures including Greystone Road, Edgewater Drive, Main Street, and Strawberry Hill Street. Over in Sherborn, the Sherborn Police Department (SPD) reported eighteen different road closures including Route 16, Prospect Street, Perry Street, Mill Street, and more. SPD was also on the search for a missing dog during the storm, Annika, who had been missing since Sunday, December 17th. Annika was eventually found with no major injuries and was able to survive the storm.
Walpole Police Department (WPD) reported eight different road closures around town, including East Street, Elm Street, Summer Street, and others. WPD additionally posted on their Facebook page, “Several more trees & wires are down around town. Please remember to treat all as if they are live. … Thank you to all the Officers, Dispatchers, Walpole Firefighters IAFF Local 2464, Walpole DPW, Eversource & other utility crews who’ve hustled since the onset of the storm. We responded to upwards of 90 storm-related calls since early this morning.”
The town of Needham was similar to the town of Sherborn in which eighteen road closures were initially reported by the Needham Police Department (NPD), including by not limited to Hemlock Street, Pine Street, and Sylvan Road. The down power line on Sylvan Road was also reported to be on fire. On their Facebook page, NPD posted multiple updates, stating, “Please stay home. We have widespread damage around town. Multiple roadways are completely impassable. We are working as quickly as we can to address the hundreds of calls we are getting. We are in contact with the school and are asking NO STUDENTS TO WALK HOME IF POSSIBLE. We have trees, wires and poles down everywhere. … A lot of the first responders will be heading home late tonight to find out they also do not have power or may have damage to their property. Please be patient over the next few days. It will be an on-going battle to get everything up and running again. … The damage in some areas will take days to repair. Please adhere to the detour signs and do not approach any downed wires.”
The Westwood Police Department (WPD) reported five road closures throughout the town, including Summer Street, Buckboard Lane, Canton Street and two areas on Dover Road. When speaking with one Westwood residence on Wednesday, December 20th, he reported that he is still yet to have power at his home.
The damage caused by this storm shocked many of us but luckily no serious injuries were reported throughout these six towns.
