Orleans Select Board Votes 4-0 to Declare Local State of Emergency After Major Storm

ORLEANS — February 24, 2026 — Orleans declares local state of emergency after storm knocks out power to nearly all of town. The Select Board voted 4-0 Tuesday in a virtual emergency session to declare a local state of emergency following a winter storm Emergency Management Director and Fire Chief Jeff Deering called more severe than the Blizzard of 1978, with 99.67 percent of the town's 6,350 properties — all but about 25 — left without electricity. Eversource projected three to five days for restoration, beginning with critical infrastructure, while Superintendent of DPW Rich Waldo reported crews had cleared 18 blocked roads but said full cleanup would take "weeks, if not months." The declaration, drawn from a Massachusetts Emergency Management template and moved by member Andrea Agre, authorizes the town to deficit-spend during the emergency and formally positions Orleans to receive state resources including tree crews, a loader, and clearing labor already requested through MEMA. An amendment approved by the board grants Chief Deering authority to lift the declaration without reconvening the full board.