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Gov. Patrick Declares State Of Emergency For Mass.

Governor Deval Patrick declared a state of emergency in Massachusetts this morning, thanks to power outages, fallen tree limbs, closed roads, and school closings.

An estimated 350,000 homes are without power.

The governor says Monday is likely the earliest that utility companies will be able to fully restore service.

PATRICK: People who have lost their power should prepare for the amount of time it will take to restore power. This is not going to be a couple of hours, it'll be a couple of days.

Peter Judge of the state's Emergency Management Agency says the crews have to focus on clearing all the debris off the roads.

JUDGE: It's problematic getting that power restored because of all that debris out there. So its a two-pronged effort over the next couple of days: to get that debris out there, allowing those crews to restore power.

In Worcester alone, 25,000 homes and businesses are without power. Ice formed on trees, breaking branches and knocking down wires across the city. A massive clean-up is underway.

Worcester Mayor Constantina Lukes says with colder temperatures expected later today, the situation could get worse.

LUKES: It's as much a tree problem and a downed wire problem than anything else, so we're bracing for worse conditions should the weather change.

Massachusetts residents are being urged to use the 211, statewide assistance line to get information about emergency shelter and other services.

This program aired on December 12, 2008. The audio for this program is not available.

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