Utility crews, Massachusetts towns preparing for bitter cold and snow
With a massive winter storm forecasted to blanket New England with a foot or more of snow on Sunday, cities and towns across the Commonwealth are already preparing.
In Milford, Massachusetts, the salt pile was fully restocked on Thursday. The town's Highway Surveyor, Scott Crisafulli, told WBZ he already has 75 plow drivers lined up.
"We reached out to all our outside contractors to make sure they were ready to go. We took that a step further and reached out to our trucking companies to make sure they're ready to haul snow," Crisafulli said.
Crisafulli said Milford has the resources to tackle the storm but plow drivers may need to work longer hours.
"It looks like we'll be in Sunday afternoon at some time and they may not go home until Tuesday," he said.
Eversource crews were also preparing for the storm on Thursday. At a gate station in Needham, where natural gas is distributed to homes and businesses, one Eversource employee explained how they manage the natural gas that comes in and out.
"It's very important that these facilities are checked, that all their systems are up and running prior to the storm," said Dan Henry, the Instrumentation and Regulation Director for Eversource.
With an expected drop in temperatures, heat will be in peak demand. Henry said his crews will work to make sure that continues through the storm.
"We're checking inlet and outlet pressures, making sure that getting enough gas from the transmission company and we're supplying enough gas to our distribution system," Henry said.