Updated: Hurricane Sandy Rips Through Easton, Leaves Many Without Power

5:00 p.m. Tuesday

The following is a message from Easton Fire Chief Kevin Partridge:

The Easton Emergency Management Team reports that the as of 4pm on Tuesday all roads are open in Easton and passable.

Town Departments responded to over 230 calls for service from 6:00 A.M. on Monday through approximately 2:00 P.M. on Tuesday. Majority of the calls as anticipated were related to trees and wires down from the strong winds. There were several localized areas with flooding due to blocked culvert from leaves. No injuries or wide spread damage occurred, there were several homes damaged by falling trees.

The outstanding issues from the storm remain power issues, tree calls and debris clean up. Response to the outages continue, and National Grid is now working in the region to put “distribution” lines back in service, and then work will begin on restoring primary and secondary power lines. At this time National Grid is reporting that there are 1328 customers without power in Easton. The Emergency Management Team will continue to work with the assigned liaison from National Grid to get the outages repaired as soon as possible. If you do not have power and have not called National Grid, please do at 1-800-322-3223.

The Department of Public Works is currently working to secure compromised trees and dangling limbs throughout Town.  As we are still assessing and responding to emergency items, no determination has been made regarding household debris cleanup at this time, however no pickups will occur this week (October 30th - November 2nd).  If and when pickups are scheduled the DPW will only be picking up brush and limbs.  Leaves and twigs are the responsibility of the homeowner.  Please look for future updates on the details for any debris and brush clearing.

Tomorrow night is Halloween and children will be trick or treating.  The police will have extra patrols on and motorists are reminded to slow down and watch out for the trick or treaters.

Parents and children should use extra caution on the sidewalks and roads as there will be leaves and some branches from the storm.  The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has a good website to review Halloween safety tips.  The website is:  http://www.cdc.gov/family/halloween/

3:00 p.m. Tuesday

According to National Grid, 1,329 Easton residents are without power at 3 p.m.

The outages are scattered throughout town, with many outages affecting the area near Prospect Street.

The Town reported that Bay Road to Norton is now open.

1:30 p.m. Tuesday

Electricity is slowly coming back in the Shovel Town. At 1:30 p.m., 930 National Grid customers in Easton are without power, according to the power company. That is better than two hours ago when over 1,300 were without power.

11:30 a.m. Tuesday

1,393 Easton residents are still without power, according to National Grid.

If you're looking to travel to Norton, you may have some trouble.

According to the town's facbeook page, Bay Rd. in Norton is closed at Blueview nursery so traffic is detouring down Highland to Norton Ave into Mansfield.

Foundry St at Burt St in Norton at the Norton Glenn is Blocked as well.

Travel to Norton on Bay Rd and Rt 123 is not possible at this time.

9 a.m. Tuesday

National Grid is reporting that 1,393 Easton residents are still without power, a downturn from late last night when over 3,000 residents were without power.

According to the town, all roads are now cleared of major debris and electric lines and open as of midnight.

National Grid will continue restoration work this morning.

DPW crews will be out this morning to begin to remove the downed trees that were pushed to the side.

11 p.m. Monday

Hurricane Sandy ripped through Easton Monday, leaving over 3,000 residents without power and shutting down much of the town.

Officials said it is undetermined at this time how long power will be down.

School will be closed again on Tuesday as officials look to restore power and clear the roads. National Grid reported over 3,000 residents powerless late Monday, and Fire Chief Kevin Partridge said five Easton roads remained closed because of fallen branches or down wires.

Partridge said Easton officials will continue to work throughout the night. Patch will have more updates as they become available.

10 p.m. Monday

National Grid is now reporting over 3,000 customers without power in the Shovel Town.

Fire Chief Kevin Partridge, released the following safety information for residents using generator power:

The Easton Emergency Management Team reminds residents that if you use a generator for power to please make sure to follow the following safety tips:

 Carbon Monoxide Hazard

•   Use generator outside only

• Make sure generator exhaust goes away from your home, generator exhaust contains carbon monoxide. This is a poison you cannot see or smell and can kill you
• Always have a working smoke detector in your house

 Electrical Hazards

•   Generators pose a risk of shock and electrocution, especially if they are operated in wet conditions

• If you must use a generator protect the generator from getting wet to help avoid shock/electrocution hazard
• Connect appliances using heavy duty extension cords that are designed for outdoor use
• Make sure the wattage rating of the cord exceeds the total wattage of all appliances connected to it

 Fire Hazard

•   Never store fuel for your generator in the home

• Gasoline, propane and kerosene, and other flammable liquids should be stored outside of living areas in properly labeled, non-glass containers
• Before refueling turn off the generator and let it cool down. Gasoline spilled on hot engine parts could ignite.

9 p.m. Monday

Easton Fire Chief Kevin Partridge said Monday night that there are five areas of Easton with road closures and wires down.

"National Grid is still out there doing what they can," he said.

Currently, there are road closures at 15 Old Farm Road, 132 Canton Street, 121 Poquanticut Ave, 85 Howard Street, and 150 Bean Street. Lines are also down and residents should use caution on Black Brook Road.

Partridge said officials will work throughout the night but he can't guarentee that power will be restored or roads will be open by morning. He said any residents using generators are should be sure their house has a working carbon monoxide detector.

As of 9 p.m., no decision had been made on whether or not to close Easton Public Schools. Southeastern Regional on Foundry Street announced that it would not be open on Tuesday.

8 p.m. Monday

With the storm expected to pick up overnight, hundreds of Easton residents are still without power.

While the storm persists, Easton school officials have not made a decision on whether or not school would be in session Tuesday. Additionally, Southeastern Regional has yet to make a call.

Patch will keep you updated.

6 p.m. Monday

Power is back to all houses in Easton with the exception of 350, according to the Town of Easton's facebook page at 6 p.m:

As of 6 PM, power has been restored to all but 350 customers in Easton. DPW and National Grid crews are still out clearing trees and wires. The DPW has had reports of over 60 trees down throughout Easton.

Portions of Howard Street, Massapoag Ave, Depot Street, Old Farm Road, Canton Street, Poquanticut Ave and Norton Ave remain closed at this time.

Work will continue through the night.

As of 6 p.m., Easton Public Schools had not cancelled or delayed Tuesday's classes.

As crews and homeowners continue to assess the damage, send over your storm photos. You can post them on Patch and share them with your neighbors. Just click here.

5 p.m. Monday

As the storm picks up, Emergency workers are ensuring that roads are cleared. As of 4 p.m., the town reported the following:

Trees down - 35, with 15 cleared
Wires Down - 15, with 6 cleared
National Grid liason and crews are on scene, and there are several road closures still in place due to downed trees or wires. Residents are asked to limit travel on the roads to allow for access of emergency vehicles.

3:30 p.m. Monday

Easton Town Administrator David Colton said the town is working with a National Grid liaison, and he expects the response to be better than what Easton saw with Irene last year.

Wires were down this afternoon on Canton, Shagbark, Kevin's Way, Norton Ave, Howard, Highland, and Bay Road. However, power is already being restored in some areas.

To see Colton's full "State of the Town" click here.

2 p.m. Monday

National Grid is reporting approximately 1,350 people without power in Easton as of 2 p.m. Most of the outages have occured in the South Easton area along Bay Road, up to Borderland State Park and Lincoln Street.

Easton Town Administrator David Colton said wires are down in these areas. Motorists are asked to use caution when driving and beware of fallen wires and tree limbs.

Below is a statement from the Easton Emergency Management Team:

The National Weather Service and the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency are predicting sustained winds in excess of 50 mph from Hurricane Sandy continuing until after midnight. Based upon these predictions and the initial number of lines down and power outages by 1:30 pm on Monday,  it is anticipated that there will be wide spread power outages in Easton that could last up to 72 hours and in some cases possibly 5 days. Residents are urged to plan for a prolonged period or power outages. Updates can be found on the Town web-site, and on the town Facebook page.

12:30 p.m. Monday:

As of noon, a small portion of Easton is without power. According to National Grid's power outage map, approximately 63 customers have been affected in the Canton Street area. The expected restoration time is 3:30 p.m.

10:30 a.m. Monday:

As Hurricane Sandy forces state agencies to shut down, most notably the MBTA - which will stop running at 2 p.m. today, much of the Town of Easton will be shutting down as well.

Easton Public Schools are closed today, as is the The Ames Free Library Trash pickup is delayed (Monday will move to Tuesday and Tuesday to Wednesday etc.). Additionally, the Easton Board of Selectmen meeting, planning and zoning meeting and the conservation commission meeting scheduled for tonight have been canceled.

At Town Offices, the following departments are open: town clerk (for election purposes), town administrator, board of health and inspectional services.

Crescent Credit Union has announced that all of its branches have been closed, also.

According to National Grid's outage map, no outages have occured in the Shovel Town yet today.

Be sure to follow Patch for more updates. You can also find us on facebook and twitter.

5:45 a.m. Monday:

Easton and State officials are warning residents to take all of the necessary precautions with Hurricane Sandy set to hit the Shovel Town Monday.

The worst of Sandy is expected to be from 9 a.m. Monday through 2 a.m. Tuesday according to WHDH's Jeremy Reiner. The forecast has caused the National Weather Service to issue a high wind warning, and has also caused Gov. Deval Patrick to issue a State of Emergency in the Bay State.

In Easton, officials are urging residents to stay updated through the town's facebook page and town webpage.

Director of Public Works Operations Manager Maurice Goulet said that waste management collection for the town would be pushed back a day to avoid barrels in the street.

Easton students will be staying home Monday. Easton Public Schools, Southeastern Regional and Stonehill cancelled classes due to the storm.

The Town of Easton Emergency Management team issued the following tips for dealing with the storm:

• Stay informed by monitoring the storm via the media.
• Be sure to have a well-stocked Family Disaster Kit in the event you lose power or are isolated for a number of days.
• Clear clogged rain gutters. This storm brings the potential for torrential rain. Providing clear drainage will help prevent misdirected flooding.
• Secure outdoor items such as lawn furniture, trash barrels, hanging plants, toys and awnings that can be broken or picked up by strong winds and potentially become a projectile.
• Elevate articles in your basement that could be damaged from even minor flooding.
• Keep your vehicles fully fuelled.
• Have a certain amount of cash available. If power is lost, ATMs may not be working.
• Check your medications and fill the prescription if needed.

Easton officials have also informed residents to only call 911 for emergencies, all other non-emergencies please use 508 230-3311, or 508 230-3322.

Sandy is hitting the Shovel Town 14 months after Hurricane Irene left thousands of Easton residents without power for multiple days at a time.

Stick with Patch throughout the coming hours and days for Hurricane Sandy updates. Be sure to follow us on twitter @EastonPatch, too.