Storm passes this Christmas Eve but outages remain

BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) — Vermonters across the state are trying to return to normal as many have been left without power … following a violent storm just before this year’s bank holiday weekend.

It was an experience with many looking for last minute Christmas gifts.

“We didn’t expect an immediate power outage. But I think that’s part of the Vermont experience,” said Andrew Buchwalter, a Richmond resident.

Instead of shopping for filler, people are stocking up on salt for their driveways — and dealing with ongoing power outages.

Andrew Buchwalter and his wife just moved to Vermont and have been powerless since Friday morning.

Buchwalter and his son decided to take a trip to the local city office to recharge at the heat shelter.

“Our phones and our laptops are dead now. So we all need some of those things. So that was the main reason we came here. We didn’t even know if anything would be open. So we are very happy that all these resources were available,” said Buchwalter.

Cities and communities across the state are battling the outages and trying to restore power as soon as possible.

For this reason, Vermont’s Region Emergency Management has established 16 heat shelters statewide.

Including Richmond, where officials are reporting many homes affected. City officials say they want to make sure it’s an option for everyone.

“A few people stopped by to see us. I think for all of us it was more about having that option. We’ve never had weather like this before. So why would you want to risk leaving people out in the cold? If you could offer something and find out. Get a better idea of ​​how you want to proceed going forward,” said Duncan Wardwell, Richmond’s assistant town manager.

Employees at many companies like Green Mountain Power are working around the clock to get the electricity going again.

“Crews have been working around the clock since this storm first hit. You’ve made tremendous progress. Under really, really, really difficult conditions. They’ve powered more than 80,000 customers so far,” said Green Mountain Power’s Kristin Kelly.

As you deal with the storm’s aftermath, Green Mountain Power says you should keep generators away from windows and your home, consider candle safety, make sure your carbon monoxide detectors are working… and say if you have a power line or converter on the Ground – do not touch.

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