Area highway departments worked alongside a bolstered National Grid force, clearing up Hurricane Sandy's initial wreckage into Monday night, and cleanup is expected to continue throughout today.
High winds brought down trees in Cheshire, Savoy, Florida and Adams on Monday, causing power outages in some areas, according to local officials and National Grid.
The storm prompted Adams Town Administrator Jonathan Butler to issue a public service announcement Monday morning rescheduling the evening's special town meeting at C.T. Plunkett Elementary School to a new date of this Thursday; canceling Wednesday's regular Selectmen's meeting; and rescheduling trick-or-treating to Friday, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Town Hall, the Council on Aging and the Adams Free Library were closed Monday, but will reopen at 11 a.m. today.
Butler also announced at 8:30 p.m. on Monday that the emergency shelter at the Adams Visitor Center would close at 10 p.m. that night, though if a situation arose that required it to be reopened, the town would do so.
As of 8:30 p.m. on Monday, Butler reported no major storm damages and only minor issues with power lines, most of which were quickly solved or impacted fewer than two residences.
He said earlier that the Department of Public Works and public safety personnel were ready to continue taking on Sandy's effects.
"Public safety personnel are all hands on deck and we're waiting on the worst of this storm," Butler said.
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National Grid reported a power outage affecting more than 500 customers in the area of Adams, Cheshire and Savoy east of Route 8 on Monday afternoon, but the problem was reportedly fixed by Monday evening.
In Cheshire, highway department members combated many felled trees Monday evening, concentrated around West Mountain and Curran roads and Outlook Avenue.
Around 6 p.m., National Grid cut power to Curran Road for safety reasons due to downed power lines. National Grid reported 121 town customers without power as of 9 p.m.
Selectwoman Carol Francesconi said at 7 p.m. that all town departments were out monitoring the situation and would continue into the night. Earlier, Francesconi said, resident Ray Smith drew down the level of Cheshire Lake to allow for extra water as a protective measure.
All Adams-Cheshire Regional School District schools are closed today.
Savoy also reported power outages Monday in the area of Chapel Road, likely to have also been caused by fallen trees, of which Selectmen's Chair John Tynan said there were many.
"[The highway department is] out there moving trees all over the place," Tynan said at 8 p.m. " ... It's pretty fierce up here."
Earlier in the day, Tynan said, he and other department heads had contacted state representatives and received emergency management contacts.
Florida, too, reported readiness for Sandy on Monday afternoon. Town Administrator Christine Dobbert said town highway crews had worked over the weekend clearing debris and would be out Monday, prepared to clear any wreckage that resulted from the storm.
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