Crews Work To Fix Power Outages, Over 11,000 Still In The Dark Saturday

BOXFORD (CBS) -- The battle to restore electricity dragged on into Saturday night in Boxford, where utility crews worked to get the power back one street at a time."

At one point Saturday, about 60 percent of the town was in the dark but progress was being made.

Earlier, Lisa Stapleton chatted with some power crews from Kentucky, saying she appreciates the work being done. She has been without power since Wednesday.

"We're cold. The dog's wearing one of my son's sweaters because he's freezing, but we're doing well," she said.

Across the street, with the now familiar sound of a generator, Gridley Losee was glad to have it, after a passing vehicle clipped his utility wires, ripping down his service box.

"It was the branch hanging on the wire. Someone came through, pulled it right off," he said.

Crews "are doing a better job than they did last time. I'll give National Grid a little credit. They seem to have gotten some guys here," he said.

The number of power outages from the latest nor'easter dropped to 11,000 Saturday.

The number has been slowly dropping from about 360,000 during the peak of the storm early Thursday morning.

According to the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA), West Newbury, Bolton, Boxford and Haverhill are among the hardest hit communities.

Check: Power Outage List

Eversource has a state-wide estimated restoration time of Saturday evening. Their customers can find out more here.

As the evening chill set in, the crews in Boxford kept at it. By late Saturday, outage numbers were dropping, welcome news after a tough few days.

"What's the number one headache with having no power for that long? It's just you're cold," Stapleton said. "You really can get warm. That's the main thing. The food, we can replace it. It's just taking care of the little ones and keeping everybody warm."