On September 13, 2018 we woke up to a beautiful late summer sunny day, precursor of what would be autumn just a few days ahead. No one in the Merrimack Valley thought of the disaster that was about to occur and that would hinder the region for months to come.
For the moment, sirens started coming from police patrol cars, firefighters and first responders. Nobody knew where they were going or where they came from, let alone what was happening. Lawrence, where it is almost impossible to drive after noontime due to heavy traffic, was paralyzed.
In Lawrence, with three radio stations, we do not have a much needed news department at times like these. We only saw smoke and helicopters flying over our heads. It was not until hours later, thanks to the news media in Boston, it was known what was happening. They reported that a pressurized gas line caused dozens of buildings in Lawrence, Andover and North Andover to explode and catch on fire.
South Lawrence was separated from the world. We were ordered to evacuate immediately. So great was the danger!
It took eight days for the authorities to organize a press conference that took place in the halls of Dr. Ibrahim El-Hefni Allied Health & Technology Center where they appeared with Governor Charlie Baker, in addition to the Mayor of Lawrence, the Managers of the towns of Andover and North Andover, and the directors of Columbia Gas.
In this conference, they verified what happened and it was promised that everything would be solved by November 19th, 2018.
The skeptics did not believe it, even without knowing what had to be done to achieve it. Thousands of workers converged on the city, began digging the streets while traffic was diverted due to construction. Citizens accepted the inconvenience because it was necessary.
Before the promised date of November 19 arrived, Columbia Gas gave us another date to finish: December 16.
On December 12, 2018, Governor Baker sent a message saying: “Governor Charlie Baker and Chief Recovery Officer Joe Albanese will join Lawrence Mayor Daniel Rivera, North Andover Town Manager Andrew Maylor, Andover Town Manager Andrew Flanagan and NiSource Executive Vice President and Chief Restoration Officer Pablo Vegas for a press conference to provide an update on the substantial completion of restoring gas service to residences and businesses in the Merrimack Valley.”
How can they talk about the substantial completion of the restoration of gas service to residences and businesses in the valley when we still have so many closed businesses in Lawrence? Why didn’t they wait until December 16, which was the last promised deadline? Perhaps they are planning to come back with another promised deadline.
