11/2/12 900 AM – The vast majority of the town has been restored. National Grid shows only 13 left without power as of this posting. Anyone that is without power should notify National Grid at 800-465-1212 unless they are confident the issue has been reported.
During this event the Police Department handled 422 calls for service and this website had over 15,000 hits for information. 9,148 people reached from Facebook, over 3800 Twitter followers and 15,708 calls made from CodeRED on the 29th.
The Police Department would like to thank all of the residents of Billerica for their support and patience. In addition, we would also like to thank all of the other Town departments that worked with us to restore the town to normal.
11/1/12 1145 AM – Today was our last scheduled conference call with the National Grid Municipal Room. Currently, the Merrimack Valley is down to 3200 customers without power. It is anticipated that the bulk of restoration will be completed today. There are now 78 line crews and 41 tree crews assigned to the area.
The largest number of outages at this time are in Billerica. The Town currently has 690 customers without power, the largest outage being the Moran Rd, Liberty Dr area where 67 customers have yet to be restored. Crews are working that area now. There are now 6 line crews assigned to Billerica. It is anticipated that the bulk of customers will be restored today with individual service outages possibly lingering into tomorrow. Many of the individual reported outages may have already been restored as part of larger restorations and there is an ongoing effort at National Grid to confirm those areas today.
10/31/12 1220 PM – Yesterday there were 45000 National Grid customers without power in the Merrimack Valley. Today that number is 18000. National Grid’s goal is to cut that in half by the end of today. In Billerica the number is currently 1386 without power.
Crews are focusing on large pockets of outages first and will be working down to single outages. Seven line crews have arrived from NH today to assist. We do anticipate a large number of restorations today but the official estimated time of restoration for Billerica stands at November 2 11:59 PM. Single outages may extend into the weekend.
10/31/12 1015 AM – National Grid reports 1380 customers remain without power in Billerica. Over 3315 customers have been restored in 24 hours. The waste water treatment facility on Letchworth Av in North Billerica remains on generator power. Almost all other town facilities have had power restored. The waste water treatment facility is affected by a failed feeder line coming in from Woburn St / Billerica AV. Crews are working to restore power to that line. When that happens we anticipate a large area in North Billerica to be restored. We are scheduled for a conference call with National Grid at 1130 AM and will update our site accordingly.
Again, Halloween has NOT been rescheduled. Trick or Treat will be from 5-8PM tonight. Please do not trick or treat in unfamiliiar areas and remain cautious of wires and storm debris. Parents are advised to view trick or treat routes during daylight hours before trick or treat hours in order to avoid any potential hazards.
10/30/12 1215 PM – National Grid reports 45000 (4695 in Billerica) customers remain without power throughout the Merrimack Valley. There are currently 42 line crews and 41 tree crews dedicated to the region. The largest outages are centered in N. Andover and Haverill. National Grid continues to work priority repairs which include hospitals/medical facilities, assisted living facilities, life threatening outages and schools. These areas are addressed first. Crews are also prioritizing areas where public safety personnel are standing by areas with live wires.
Currently, Billerica is doing well with its recovery. All primary and most secondary roads are opened. Schools are all powered and operational. Infrastructure concerns at this time involve the waste water treatment plant, a number of sewer pumping stations and the town water intake. All of these facilities are on generator power at the time of this posting. Public safety also has some limited issues with radio communications equipment but it has had no effect on operations as redundant systems are in place.
Town Manager Curran requested an estimated time of recovery from National Grid. Currently the Town has over 4500 customers without power with 70 active outages. National Grid is unable to provide an estimate at the time of this posting but they do believe they will make significant progress today due to a good weather outlook. National Grid representatives have communicated that they will have much more information, along with recovery estimates tomorrow, 10/31/12.
10/30/12 950 AM – From the School Superintendent: Update on Kennedy School: Power will not be restored until after lunchtime. Have toured building with principal, facilities director, police.
All determine that the building is safe for students to be in today. Extra lighting will be brought in and lunches will be brought in also.
Note to those that use Kennedy Fun Club: Fun Club will close early at the Kennedy at 5:00 this afternoon.
10/30/12 900 AM – At this time National Grid shows over 4800 Billerica customers without power. We do not have an estimate on restoration and there are currently no line crews in town that we know of. Our National Grid liaison is attending a meeting in Andover shortly and we should have more information after that concludes. Emergency Management continues to hold over 50 open calls for trees and wires down. All town facilities are scheduled to be open today. If that changes we will update.
- Always assume a downed line is live. Never attempt to touch or move downed lines, and keep children and pets away from them.
- Do not touch anything power lines are touching, such as tree branches or fences.
10/29/12 1000 PM – Billerica Public Safety, Tree crews and the Department of Public Works have responded to hundreds of calls today and will continue to work through the night along with National Grid to restore power and clear the roads. All Billerica public schools including the Shawsheen Tech have a two hour delay for Tuesday, 10/29/12.
10/29/12 1230 PM – CodeRED Call Launched – The Town is preparing for Hurricane Sandy and we are anticipating high winds that may cause significant power outages. In the event of a power outage the number to call for National Grid is 800-465-1212. Our Emergency Operations Center is staffed and has been joined by a liaison from National Grid to assist in coordinating our response. Public safety has increased manning in anticipation of an increased call demand by residents.
To keep up to date please follow the Police Department and Fire Department on Twitter and Facebook if possible as well as our websites. We will post as much information as possible as long we have the means to do so.
We would also like to share the following information to all residents:
- Trash collection will continue today as scheduled
- Please be sure to secure your empty trash cans and recycle bins after collection
- The library and council on aging is closed
- Town Hall will be closed at 1pm today except for essential personnel
- All town meetings, including the Selectmen’s meeting is cancelled for today
- All school meetings and activities are cancelled for today
- Halloween trick or treat has not been rescheduled at this time
10/28/12 6:24 PM – To report a power outage, contact National Grid at 800-465-1212. To contact National Grid for non-power outage issues, please call 800-322-3223.
10/28/12 5:10 PM – All Billerica Public Schools, including the Shawsheen Tech, will be closed tomorrow.
10/28/12 5:00 PM – Governor has declared a state of emergency in response to Hurricane Sandy…… more. Gov. Patrick has closed all state offices tomorrow and is recommending that private employers do the same. All citizens are advised to stay off the roadways tomorrow.
10/28/12 10:28 AM – Billerica Public Safety Departments, including Emergency Management are preparing for the effect of Hurricane Sandy that is currently bearing down on the east coast. As of Sunday at 5:57 AM the National Weather Service has put in place a high wind watch from Monday morning through Monday evening. If needed, the Police Department will again be leveraging our website, social media and CodeRED for important updates. If you are not registered for CodeRED please take a few minutes to register to ensure you receive updates via land-line and cellular telephones. Please click here to register. If you have relatives that are unable to register themselves please feel free to register for them. In addition, we will continue to post updates through Twitter and Facebook.
As of Sunday morning:
- There is no plans in place to move or reschedule trash collection
- There are no plans to cancel or reschedule Halloween trick or treat
Billerica – On Sunday, October 28, 2012 at around noon time, Billerica Police were dispatched to a residence on Lois Lane in Billerica following a report of a suspicious male that had approached a six year old female in her front yard. Officers arrived and determined that an unknown male had walked into the yard of a residence where a six year old male and female were playing while their adult family members were working in the open garage. The unknown male reportedly approached the girl and asked if he could shake her hand. As the unknown man took the girl’s hand into his, two adults that live in the home approached and asked what was going on. It is reported that the unknown male would not respond. He subsequently ran from the area in the direction of Shane Lane. The girl was not injured during the encounter. The suspect was described as being a white male, approximately 6 feet tall with a thin build, around 20 years of age with short wavy dark brown hair. He was wearing tan pants and a black and blue flannel zip-up coat. He was also carrying a small black satchel type bag. After being unsuccessful in locating the suspect, officers spoke with various neighbors and determined that the suspect was not familiar to the people in the immediate neighborhood.