Andover Still Clearing Debris Weeks After Storm

(ANDOVER, MA) – An unexpected storm that hit several towns along Merrimack Valley in Massachusetts in September were so severe, it left residents to remove pounds of debris on their own as town officials said they moved as fast as possible to provide clean-up resources ahead of a second storm. 

Towns of Andover, North Andover, Lawrence, Chelmsford, Tewksbury and Westford were first hit with a violent storm on Sept. 8 that uprooted trees and brought down electrical wires that caused power outages throughout that night. At the height of the outages, 80% of the town of Andover had lost power that was mostly restored by the morning of Sept. 11. 

“Given the magnitude of the storm and the severity of the damage…it could take some time before that process is complete,”  Phillip Geoffroy, a spokesperson for the Town Manager of Andover, said about the removal process and ahead of a second storm that touched down on Sept. 15. “It’s something the town is hoping to do as soon as possible.” 

The aftermath of the first storm left piles of debris along roadways and pushed to the edge of private properties – an effort by the Department of Public Works to ensure that roadways were accessible, according to the Town Manager’s office. 

The Andover Townsman reported that residents who had fallen tree debris on their private property were able to transport it themselves to either Bald Hill Compost Site or the parking lot at Pomps Pond. 

Trees dropped off at the Bald Hill Compost Site on Sept. 20 [Credit: Félicie Jungels]

The Town Manager’s Office also shared that National Grid, Republic Services, a recycling, waste and environmental services company, and the Department of Public Works joined forces since Sept.12 to pick up several piles of tree branches and limbs left behind in front of private properties. According to DPW, these resources were available throughout the month.