Hurricane Irene, One Year Later: What Do You Remember?

There are plenty of storms to recall, but surely Irene is still fairly fresh in the minds of Milford area residents.

Chances are last year at this time, you were scrambling to get a generator, or stocking up on bottled water, maybe even calling relatives to see if the family could move over there for a bit. As with many other communities around, Milford took a decent hit from Irene, who even in a weakened state as a tropical storm knocked out a majority of the town's power — in some cases for nearly a week. Irene hit the edge of North Carolina on Aug. 27, 2011, as a Category 1 hurricane. It was the first of its kind to hit land since Ike two years earlier, and most of the East Coast felt its effects, with 2.3 million under mandatory evacuation orders.  Patch in MetroWest covered the effects of Irene throughout, in a live blog that spanned for days. And …

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Jennifer

10:26 am on Wednesday, August 29, 2012

I remember 7 days of no electricity, then National Grid showing up and within 15 minutes had it going again...they couldn't have done it on day 2?   more ›

Patch Facts

5 Things You Need to Know Today: Sept. 6

This is the final week to bring your brush piles from Tropical Storm Irene to the Milford collection site on Asylum Street.

Our weekday morning column, 5 Things You Need to Know, provides you with information that can help you plan your day and give you some fodder for water cooler conversations. 1. Expect a wet week ahead. The remnants of Tropical Depression Lee will begin pushing up into New England Tuesday, reacting with a cold front. The National Weather Service in Taunton on Monday afternoon issued a flash flood watch through Tuesday afternoon for much of New England. The chance of rain is forecast at 90 percent. 2. Milford will keep the brush disposal site on Asylum Street open all week for people dropping off Hurricane Irene debris. The hours are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. The final day for collection is Saturday, Sept. 10. The hours on Saturday will be 7 a…

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Mary MacDonald

12:22 pm on Tuesday, September 6, 2011

I made that one a separate story!   more ›

Contributor Corner

Moore: Extended Power Losses 'Not Acceptable.'

State Sen. Richard T. Moore says state authorities should review the response of private utility companies to electrical outages following Hurricane Irene.

Editor's Note: The following press release was published Thursday by state Sen. Richard T. Moore on his Facebook page. "With several towns in his Senate district still suffering from large numbers of residents and businesses without electricity four days after Hurricane Irene, Sen. Richard T. Moore (D-Uxbridge) is seeking answers. In a letter to Senate Post Audit and Oversight Committee Chairman Mark Montigny (D-New Bedford) Moore requested an official review of the hurricane response efforts by the utilities serving the Commonwealth. "It's just not acceptable for anyone to have to be without power for so many days, especially since we had so much advance warning and since the storm proved less powerful than predicted," Moore explained. "I…

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UPDATED: PiNZ Power Back After 4 Days

Power outages are being resolved, but if you are one of the Milford businesses still without, the wait has been excruciating. At Pinz, a full-service bar, restaurant, and entertainment business, losses are estimated at $60,000.

UPDATED: PiNZ owner David Breen announced Thursday morning that power has been restored; the business will open at noon today, Sept. 1. Original story: Hurricane Irene blew into town Sunday, ruining plans and finances with a random hand. Some businesses, spared by tree or pole damage nearby, never lost power. Then they were blessed twice, because several thousand families in Milford initially were left with no electrical power, and many of them went out to eat. For the businesses without power, losses are mounting. The damage depends on how much revenue they're losing and what materials had to be purchased, or discarded. Restaurants that lost power are taking the hardest hit because many had to dump all of their refrigerated and frozen …

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On The Job

No Lights, No Problem: Charlie's Adapted, Stayed Open

Charlie's Mini-Mart, out of power from Sunday to early Wednesday, had to toss the ice cream bars and half-gallons, along with the cold cuts and milk. But owner Charlie Giokas adapted and kept the store open.

The lights went off at Charlie's Mini-Mart about 10:30 a.m. Sunday. They flickered, and then went. And Charlie Giokas, owner of the convenience store, knew he would go without for awhile. His wife, at home, listening to a police scanner, was telling him wires and trees were coming down all over Milford. "I heard, it's like a catastrophe out there," he said Tuesday, recalling Irene, who arrived in Milford as a tropical storm. Charlie's had the power back on by Wednesday morning, but for three days, Giokas kept his shop open by being resourceful. In an interview Tuesday, before the power came back on, Giokas explained how he was making do. (At the time, he was among nearly 1,200 customers in Milford who remained powerless.) The first thing …

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UPDATED: 100 Waiting for Power

Five days after Irene came and went, all but 107 homes and businesses in Milford have had their power restored, according to a Friday morning update from National Grid.

UPDATED: The wait is nearly over for Milford residents and businesses waiting for electricity. National Grid reported Friday morning that all but 107 customers in town have had their power restored. The outage update was posted at 10 a.m. on the National Grid website. Most homes and businesses that lost power did so on Sunday. Outages peaked at about 5,000 on Sunday, nearly half of the utility company's customers. Due to the extent of damage from Tropical Storm Irene, National Grid this week has advised its New England customers that full power may not be restored until Sunday. The extended power loss for some customers — whose livelihoods or health depends on electric — has been described as unacceptable by state Sen. Richard T. Moore, …

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Mary MacDonald

10:12 am on Friday, September 2, 2011

Angela, what is the name of your street?   more ›

VIDEO: Milford Cleans Up, Copes with Power Loss

On the day following Hurricane turned Tropical Storm Irene, Milford residents started hauling tree debris to the town brush facility, and for those without power, hoped to see some lights on soon.

Milford residents started cleaing up their yards, streets, driveways and kitchens Monday, deciding what was worth saving, what should be thrown out. Several thousand people lost power initially in the storm, and although some had power restored overnight, at least 3,500 homes and businesses remained powerless Monday afternoon. Some of the darkened facilities in Milford included the Milford Town Library, and much of the downtown area. The Milford Highway Department announced it had opened, for free, and until further notice, the use of the town's brush facility. People should take the yard waste from Irene to that facility, on Asylum Street, or to the Transfer Station on Cedar Street.

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