The coastal Massachusetts town of Scituate cut power to a section of town during Monday's blizzard in an effort to prevent fires due to flooding.
The Scituate Fire Department said power was cut to Cedar Point around 11 p.m. The area includes Rebecca Road, Oceanside Drive, Turner Road and Surfside Road.
The decision was made by emergency management officials and the fire chief due to previous incidents during storms and a lack of access to those areas. The town has lost homes to fires in past storms.
The town recommended that residents in those areas evacuate for the duration of the storm. A storm shelter opened at 6 p.m. at Scituate High School, and transportation was available on request.
One resident sent a message to the town via its website criticizing the decision to shut off power.
"In all the many years I have lived in Scituate I have never heard of the Town shutting off citizens' electricity in a storm exactly when power may be needed most, in a winter storm with freezing conditions," the resident wrote. "Quite the contrary, it has been my experience that in past storms the Town and power companies have gone to great lengths to ensure that as many people as possible have electricity. To arbitrarily shut off power, and especially on such short notice, seems to me to be short sighted, arrogant and counter productive. Is this just an effort to get people to evacuate without actually forcing the issue and ordering people out of their homes?"
