While emergency crews began the arduous cleanup, and utility company crews sought to restore power across the region, thousands of people huddled in emergency shelters or fortified themselves with supplies to combat the cold. At the Gray True Value Hardware in Augusta, Maine, the lights were out, but owner Keith Harriman was doing a steady business by flashlight for customers seeking storm-related items.
Ice covers Maine, New Hampshire, and New York.
In Vermont, the winter quiet was shattered by the sound of ice-coated tree limbs crashing to the ground. About 500 National Guardsmen were called in to help residents without power in Chittenden County alone. Nor was the concern just for the 32,000 households across the state without electricity. There were thousands of cows waiting to be milked by machines that require electricity. The power is out from northern New York state to the Canadian province of New Brunswick Dean deployed the National Guard to help utility crews to restore power, and prepared to spend the night in his office.