Before most storms occur, there is an advanced warning sent out to the people cautioning them of the damage that could possibly occur. However, no one was prepared for the impact that the freak snowstorm on Saturday, October 29, 2011 would have. People were without power for days, and many schools in Fairfield County, such as Weston and Wilton, closed schools due to the large number of residents without power.

For many Westporters, power was not restored until four or five days after the snowstorm; and for a select few, not until a week after. This meant sleeping in the freezing cold, or relocating to a hotel, and spending many hours at the Westport Library trying to get work done.

Lucy Wright ’12, lost her power the day of the storm, and did not get it returned until a week later. When asked her perspective she had a grim opinion on the situation, “I dealt with it badly. My mother and I had to go stay at the Westport Inn from Wednesday until Friday. We had no light, heat, water or anything. It was terrible,” said Wright.

Continuous postings regarding the power issue, and using statistics from CL&P, were posted on westportnow.com, representing how many residents were without power. However even with the statistics decreasing each day, numerous people were frustrated with the lack of work done by the companies to restore the power and heat.

For Hannah Dickison’13, her attitude towards the work ethic of the power companies was not positive. “I think the line crews who came out to deal with it were great. However, CL&P definitely has some management problems. One issue is that they had to send crews all the way out from North Carolina, which is ridiculous.” According to Dickison, companies that claim to have “proper management” should know that areas with extreme weather, especially those in the North East “can’t afford to wait for power to be restored.”

Wright agreed, saying that “there were too few power crews available to cover all of the residents in Connecticut without power,” and that the “lack of proper staffing at CL&P left irritated customers waiting for workers to be finished elsewhere before they even appeared in Westport.”

Wright said her week without power was “very frustrating,” and she “only wished CL&P could’ve handled it in a better manner regarding the severity of the situation.”

Regardless if you were one of the lucky few that survived the storm with power and heat intact, or one in the majority percentage whose house was turned cold and dark, the snowstorm gave the power companies the rude awakening they so desperately needed. No one can predict what crazy storms will occur this upcoming winter, but it is important to be prepared for the worst.

“I’m already looking up room reservations for the Westport Inn, gathering up firewood and buying flashlights, even if it’s only predicted to be a frost.” said Wright.