Sudbury Fire Chief: NStar Tree Clearing Meant Less Power Outages
SUDBURY (CBS) - The last time a major storm rolled through town, trees toppled power lines and it took days for NStar to restore power to hundreds of customers.
Last spring, NStar crews clear-cut dozens of trees in Sudbury and surrounding communities in Metrowest as part of their Rights of Way Tree Clearing Project.
Any tree that threatened a power line was cut.
Check: NStar Power Outage Map
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Lana Jones reports
Podcast
The cutting created an uproar as residents said NStar was ruining their neighborhoods and in June, NStar agreed to stop.
But in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, it appears their work paid off, officials said.
"Some people don't get themselves ready for emergencies until emergencies happen," Sudbury Fire Chief Bill Miles told WBZ NewsRadio's Lana Jones. "Some people were reluctant to part with their trees but we take a different look at it."
There are still many downed lines in Sudbury from the storm but Miles said it is a lot fewer than there would be if those trees had not been cut.