In the News

SPRINGFIELD, MA (WGGB/WSHM) -- Congressman Richard Neal and Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno surveyed the damage from Tropical Storm Isaias in the city as crews rush to restore power to thousands of people across the region.

Sarno told us that around 2,500 people in the city are now without power.

On Thursday, city officials said Springfield was one of, if not the hardest hit community in western Massachusetts.

“Hundreds and hundreds of trees came down,” Sarno explained.

Sarno and Neal spoke at Forest Park, which now has at least one less tree following Tropical Storm Isaias.

“This was a very difficult challenging storm,” Sarno added.

Sarno claims the city was the hardest hit in western Massachusetts. He said the governor sent crews to help with the cleanup efforts and is encouraged to see the number of people without power steadily dropping.

Right after the storm, Sarno said more than 10,000 Springfield residents were in the dark.

“Now, we’re down to 2,500 which - one is too many, don’t get me wrong - but that’s less than a 24 hour period,” Sarno added.

Eversource spokesperson Priscilla Ress told Western Mass News that most of the greater Springfield area will have power restored by midnight tonight.

The City of Homes, Ress said, has many homes that can be restored at once because it is densely populated.

“You will see that, when there is a restoration that, you will see a greater number of customers that are restored,” Ress explained.

The storm also dealt a heavy blow to Connecticut, wiping out power to hundreds of thousands of people.

Ress said Eversource crews in Massachusetts are focusing in the Bay State customers first.

“Once our customers have had their power significantly restored, then we would consider, then we will actually take steps to take our crews and start moving them in to Connecticut,” Ress noted.

Neal vowed to seek FEMA dollars for the cost of cleanup. He said the damage is a reminder that above-ground utility lines, commonplace in older communities in the northeast, are no match for the strong storms of today.

“Weather has gotten much more unruly over the last few years, I think. The storms are pretty vicious,” Neal said.

We checked in with National Grid as well. They said most of their customers should have restored power by 7 p.m. Thursday, but work for some lingering homes could stretch into Saturday.