UPDATE 1/23/23 8:21pm: The City of Gardner has announced through CODE RED .” Additionally in response to over 2200 residences being without power until tomorrow night the Gardner Senior Center will be open as a warming Center from 7:30 AM through 7:00 PM tomorrow January 24.”
Schools: Gardner Public Schools announced around 8pm that there will be a 2 hour delay on Tuesday January 24, 2023.
PUBLIC SAFETY ISSUE
Parking Ban in Gardner 8:30pm 1/23 to 7am 1/24. Power Lines Down, power not expected to be restored until tomorrow. Travel only if necessary.
Dangerous Conditions Exist in the Greater Gardner MA area – Monday 1-23-23
Gardner Magazine has been monitoring Public Safety Radio Traffic. A number of trees and/or wires are down in Gardner, including some falling on dwellings. Please proceed cautiously in the area and only venture out if necessary.
It is assumed that these same circumstances could affect other communities in the area. If you see down wires, do not attempt to walk and/or drive over or around them. Stay clear and report the situation via 911.
Hundreds of Gardner MA customers are without power and restoration of power is not expected until tomorrow. See detailed statement from Mayor Nicholson below. Scanner traffic showed extensive cooperation among Gardner PD, Gardner Fire, and Gardner DPW. Here’s a statement from Gardner Mayor Michael Nicholson. Play on any device. Click Play.
At 4:55pm on January 23, 2023 Gardner Mayor Nicholson made the following statement, “There are several areas across the City of Gardner that are currently experiencing power outages due to down trees and wires. With today’s storm event we are asking that residents please limit all travel to only that which is necessary for the remainder of the evening. There are several locations in the city that are currently without power with most of those locations being told that power will not be restored until between 5:00 PM and 6:00 PM tomorrow evening on Tuesday January 24 with the snow still coming down in order to allow in the interest of public safety and in order to allow the plows to adequately clear the roads we are asking residents to please limit travel if at all possible. My office as well as the DPW are in constant contact with each other as well as National Grid and further information will be given out if necessary as the evening progresses. Thank you very much and have a great evening. Please stay safe out there.”
Mayor Nicholson sent out the following statement to City Councillors and the Media at 5:08pm on 1/23/23: pdf format, Click here.
““There are several places in the City that currently do not have power, with the majority of locations having an estimated restoration time of between 5pm and 6pm tomorrow (1/24). There are also several trees leaning on power wires that themselves are coated in snow and ice. Please try to limit all driving to that which is necessary in the interest of safety and to allow plows to adequately clear the roads.
Furthermore, there will be an on-street parking ban in effect this evening, Monday, January 23, beginning at 8:30 pm and expiring tomorrow morning, Tuesday, January 24th at 7am.”
My office, the Gardner Fire Department, and the Department of Public Works are all in contact with each other and National Grid and will provide updates as needed as the storm progresses into the night. There are currently 273 properties (unsure how many individuals are in each residence included in that count) without power in the city, with all but five (5) of those having an estimated restoration time between 5pm and 6pm tomorrow evening, Tuesday, January 24th. These areas include Lovewell St., Prospect St., Union St., Bayberry Dr., Rosewood Dr., Champagne Rd., Warwick St., Jackson Hill Rd., Linus Allain Ave., Stephanie Dr., Chapman Park, Crestwood Dr., Cross St., Elm St., Margaret St., Blanchard St., Beagle Club Rd., West St., Leo Dr., Fieldstone Dr., Otter River Rd., Clark St., Stone St., Raymond St., Wampanoag South Rd., Kelton St., and areas immediately surrounding these locations.
The 8:30 start time of the parking ban is earlier than the usual 10pm or 11pm start times we have used in the past, however, since the last business downtown (the area most impacted by on street parking restrictions) to close this evening is closing at 8pm, and the speed at which the snow and ice are falling in this storm, the decision was made to move this time to as early as possible in order to keep up with the storm.
According to the National Grid Power Outage map as of 4:26pm on January 23 2023, there are numerous power outages throughout the region. To view the latest map, CLICK HERE.