Downed Trees Create Power Outages In Massachusetts

OXFORD (CBS) -- Cleanup is underway in Central Massachusetts after Tropical Storm Henri brought down plenty of trees and power lines. This had been the largest concern for the storm in the days leading up to its arrival.

In Oxford, storm force winds toppled a tree on Old Southbridge Road. Ron Derderian photographed the moment when the tree crashed into power lines and caught fire.

"We just heard like a loud fizzle and we went and looked and there was smoke," he told WBZ-TV.

"Well, it was on fire, the live wires, I'm sure they're 13,000 volts so they kept it hot," Derderian said.

National Grid crews acted fast, restoring power in just a few hours.

But in nearby Dudley, some families were without electricity for more than seven hours and counting.

One man told WBZ-TV he is glad he prepared ahead of time.

"I was scrambling the last couple of days making sure I got my sump pump was working, my generator gassed up but actually it was way lighter than I thought it was going to be so that's a good thing," said Chris Kuebuer.

Dudley residents said they expected even more downed trees from the storm.