Ice storm cuts the power to 400,000

Source: Agencies  |   2008-12-16  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

UTILITY crews worked around the clock to restore electricity yesterday to more than 400,000 homes and businesses in six northeastern states in the United States still without power three days after an ice storm.

Many public schools were closed with local emergency declarations still in effect in dozens of communities because of poor road conditions and downed power lines.

Power companies in New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Maine, Connecticut and upstate New York reported on Sunday and early yesterday that 423,200 customers were still without power. The ice storms late last week plunged more than 1 million homes into the dark and cold.

Crews across the region reported that ice had destroyed utility poles, wires and other equipment, but said the extent of damage was unclear because some roads still were impassable.

The potential for high winds and rain over the next day or two is likely to affect efforts to restore power and may also create additional outages in Massachusetts.

Thousands of people were staying at emergency shelters. Emergency management officials reported four storm-related deaths, three of them caused by carbon monoxide poisoning from power generators.