Nor’easter closes schools, downs trees in Tri-Town

Oct 27, 2021

One of the most significant storms to hit the area in decades closed schools and municipal buildings for three days, blocked roads and kept the area in the dark for significant stretches of time as a nor’easter walloped the Tri-Town.

During the storm, which hit from Oct. 27 to Oct. 29, trees in Marion, Mattapoisett and Rochester were downed, with some dangling from wires, while others made roads impassable.

In Rochester, a tree fell, crushing a gazebo. In Marion, winds from the storm lifted a boat onto land at Barden’s Boat Yard.

Many major roads were also blocked by downed trees. One Facebook user lamented in a Rochester community group that all available means of egress from town were blocked the first day of the storm, though by the late morning, most roads were cleared enough to be at least navigable. 

The storm also caused power outages in all three towns. In Marion, where the town reported nearly 75% of buildings had lost power Wednesday morning, the crucial stop light at Route 6 and Front Street was out of order, and local staples such as Uncle Jon’s Coffee and Cumberland Farms were closed.

According to Eversource’s outage map, Mattapoisett and Rochester faced significant outages as well, with 81 and 87% of customers affected at one point. 

Power was substantially returned by 6 p.m. Oct. 30 in Marion, the evening of Oct. 28 in Mattapoisett and 9 a.m. in Rochester, an Eversource spokesperson said.

To help those without power, Marion opened a warming/charging center Oct. 28 at the Sippican School Auditorium.

Mattapoisett Fire and Rescue responded to 78 emergency calls on Oct. 27 and 28, the department reported.

During the 36 hours prior to Oct. 28, Rochester Fire responded to more than 70 calls for service. These included downed trees and power lines, blocked roadways, trees landed on houses, flooded basements and generator fires.

Calls were also received for medical incidents, two structure fires, several motor vehicle accidents and mutual aid to other communities to assist them during the storm, Rochester fire reported.

Our Fire/EMS crews worked hand in hand through the storm along with the Rochester Highway Department to get the roads open as quickly and efficiently [as possible] while keeping safety a priority,’’ fire officials wrote on social media. A key, they wrote, was “making sure that all emergency vehicles could respond to emergency calls through town if needed.’’

First responders and highway crews were “working around the clock to keep things operational,’’ officials wrote.