Week later, thousands still in the dark

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) - One day without power can be rough, so you can imagine how people are feeling after a week without power.

The snow is almost gone from the October storm, a week before, but trees, wires, and debris remain.

The kids on Newton Road in Springfield built a snowman to warn drivers of downed wires because no one else has.

Marcos Rodriguez of Springfield told 22News, “We had a couple close calls that people just come shooting down, but most of the people around the block know the cables are down, but there are obviously new people that come down and delivery guys and it's as safety issue.”

Carl Leonard of Ludlow agrees with Rodriguez. “It hangs about two feet off the ground and that's one of the high tension wires that go right up there to the transformer.  So from a standpoint of public safety that the road is blocked and emergency vehicles can't get through they would have to egress around the other streets.”

Power lines are still hanging a week after the snow storm hit and neighbors in this East Forest Park neighborhood say they feel like they're always the last one to get power restored.

According to Richard Circosta of Springfield, “I don't know the facts of why it takes so long, but I know that during the tornado my street was one of the last streets to get power and now my street is the last street to get power and you feel a little bit displaced when you've got to move around.”

These residents, like thousands of others throughout Massachusetts, have had to do what they can to stay warm and keep their mind off their problems.

Like most, Nancy Hachigian of Springfield never anticipated the snowstorm to happen. “I mean I wasn't prepared for this.  If I had known this was going to happen I would have had crackers and different breads on hand.”

These residents hope the power is switched back on and street cleaned up before the rest of the snow melts.