New Hampshire utility crews work to restore power

Utility crews were working across New Hampshire on Friday to restore power to the more than 75,000 customers without electricity in the wake of Thursday’s nor’easter.That number was down from more than 92,000 earlier in the day. Many towns were hit hard by the combination of heavy, wet snow and gusty winds.In Nottingham, about 72% of Eversource customers were still without power Friday morning. Some progress had been made, but residents said it had been slow going.Many residents said it had been more than 24 hours since they lost power. As he filled his new generator, resident Tim Decker said the outage has been a little annoying, but he appreciated the job the crews were doing.>> Download the free WMUR app to get updates on the go: Apple | Google Play <<“I know they’re doing the best they can, and these guys are out there working in this terrible weather, so I really do appreciate it that they’re out there up on the poles,” he said.Around Nottingham, it was easy to find damage from the storm. Some roads were passable, although some trees seemed ready to come down at any moment.For many in Nottingham, this was the second time in a week that they have had to deal with a power outage. Decker is among them.”We lost power last week, and my old generator wouldn’t start, so the next morning after we had lost power, we went down and bought a new generator, and we’re up and running,” he said.Some roads in Nottingham were completely blocked by fallen trees and downed wires. Resident Elizabeth Kopreski said the wires were ripped right off her house when a tree fell. She also had a generator running, but she said it was a bit of an adventure to get to that point.”We pulled our generator out, but we only had one can of gas, so yesterday, my husband had to go out and go around the tree because our road was closed and find an open gas station so he could fill it up,” she said.Kopreski, a New Hampshire Electric Co-op customer, said she hasn’t been told when to expect her power to be back, while Decker, and Eversource customer, said he had been told that an update email will be sent out Friday afternoon.Customers who lost power at their home or business are asked to call their utility to report the outage:Eversource – 800-662-7764Liberty Utilities – 855-349-9455New Hampshire Electric Co-op – 800-343-6432Unitil – 888-301-7700>> Find the latest power outage maps at this linkAnyone who sees downed power lines should call 911. Assume they are still live wires, and do not touch them or drive over them.People should also stay at least 35 feet away from downed lines and anything they fall on.>> Download the free WMUR app to get updates on the go: Apple | Google Play <With the power out, some might turn to generators, but officials urge folks to only use a generator that has been properly connected to house wiring by a professional.Generators should be run outside and at least 10 feet away from a building, with the exhaust facing away from the house.Improperly installed or running generators can cause carbon monoxide poisoning. Anyone who suspects carbon monoxide in a home or building should leave immediately and call 911 before calling the state poison center at 1-800-222-1222.Be weather-aware! Download the WMUR app for Apple or Android devices and turn on push notifications. You can choose to receive weather alerts for your geolocation and/or up to three ZIP codes. In addition, you can receive word when precipitation is coming to your area.Get storm coverage through the free Very Local app on your smart TV.Follow the Storm Watch 9 team on social media:Mike Haddad: Facebook | XKevin Skarupa: Facebook | XHayley LaPoint: Facebook | XJacqueline Thomas: Facebook | XMatt Hoenig: Facebook | X

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