Concord Opens School Cafeteria For Students Who Lost Power During Storm

WAYLAND (CBS) - In Wayland, Wednesday night's storm created havoc. Twenty hours after it rolled through the area, many people were still without power. Powerful straight line winds took down trees and power lines with them.

Overall, more than 75,000 homes and businesses were still without electricity Thursday afternoon.

"At best, we had 60 percent of the town without power. I believe now we are 30 percent of the town without power," said Wayland Police Lieutenant Sean Gibbons.

"It was a short duration storm, only lasted about a minute. But extensive damage experienced throughout town," said Wayland Director of Public Works Tom Holder.

It was a similar scene in Concord, where residents won't soon forget the power of the fast moving storm.

"All of the sudden, a huge, gusting wind started happening. Almost like a mini tornado. It was blowing my pots everywhere," said one Concord resident.

In Concord, like Wayland, the day was all about cutting trees and restoring power.

But at Concord Middle School, teachers and administrators decided to open the cafeteria for kids whose homes had no power to do remote learning.

"Meeting the learning in a COVID world certainly allows us to exercise everything we have learned about perseverance and grit," said Concord Middle School Principal Justin Cameron.

Educators have had to be creative in this year, and students have had to be flexible.

"It was definitely much better than just staying home and sitting around," said one Concord Middle School student.

There are still dozens of communities without power due to all the fallen trees. It may be a day or two before everything is restored.