Today is Thursday, February 26th, 2026. Scroll down this article for continuing coverage of the aftermath of the Blizzard of 2026.
The calm after the storm.
8 AM update: Eversource continuing to make slow but steady progress. As of this hour, 53,757 customers are still with out power. Provincetown which was completely out last night now shows 2,100 customers out of 6,000 still without power.
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Overnight there were two structure fires. From Centerville-Osterville-Marstons Mills Fire: at 12:54 AM the Centerville-Osterville-Marstons Mills Fire Department responded to 58 Sachem Drive for a reported chimney fire. Upon arrival, crews found fire that had extended into the structure and the incident was immediately upgraded to a reported structure fire.
Firefighters worked in extremely cold temperatures but were able to quickly knock down the fire and prevent further extension. All occupants safely evacuated the home prior to our arrival. No injuries were reported.
The Centerville-Osterville-Marstons Mills Fire Department would like to thank our mutual aid partners for their assistance and station coverage during the incident. We also extend our appreciation to the Barnstable Police Department and the Barnstable County Sheriff’s Office for their support.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation by C-O-MM Fire Department investigators.
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About 4:30 AM, Hyannis Fire responded to a Skating Rink Road residence. Crews discovered a chimney fire that had extended into a wall behind a fireplace. Crews were able to prevent the fire from spreading any further. No injuries were reported.
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Provincetown Police/CWN
Also overnight: Provincetown Police reported that the water department was working to repair a water main break on Bradford Street in the area of Bangs Street. Bradford Street will be closed to through traffic from Howland Street to Conwell Street until repair is completed, please seek alternate routes.
9:30 AM update: Fire was reported in the bathroom of a house on Spring Valley Road in Wellfleet, prompting a response from neighboring towns. Fire crews were able to confine the fire to that room and no injuries were reported. Update from Wellfleet Fire: On February 26, 2026, at 8:54 AM, the Wellfleet Fire Department responded to a report of smoke inside a residence at 86 Spring Valley Road. Upon arrival, crews observed smoke coming from the first floor of the home. Firefighters quickly stretched a hose line and entered the residence. The fire was rapidly extinguished and contained to a single room, preventing further fire damage to the remainder of the structure. The fire response brought in assistance from Wellfleet’s mutual aid partners from Eastham Fire Department, Orleans Fire-Rescue, and Truro Fire Department. Mutual aid companies provided additional personnel to assist with primary and secondary searches and to check for fire extension. There were no reported injuries. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. The Wellfleet Fire Department reminds residents to ensure working smoke alarms are installed on every level of the home and inside sleeping areas. Smoke alarms with battery backups help ensure continued protection during power outages.
10:15 AM update: A traffic crash left a vehicle on its side in Falmouth. The crash happened on Currier Road south of Route 151. The driver was assisted out of the vehicle and was evaluated by EMTs. Falmouth Police are investigating the cause of the crash.
12:00 PM update: BREAKING NEWS: The Barnstable County Sheriff’s communications center which handles fire dispatch for most Cape Cod towns is experiencing a major outage. Dispatchers are using portable radios to stay on the air. CWN has reached out to the Sheriff’s office to learn more. UPDATE we are learning 911 calls answered by the Sheriff are being redirected to an alternate site but 911 is working.
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A traffic crash is reported on Route 6 in Wellfleet at the Marconi Beach turnoff. One person was being evaluated. A reminder that NON WORKING TRAFFIC LIGHTS SHOULD BE TREATED AS A 4-WAY STOP.
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The Town of Barnstable has announced that due to safety concerns as a result of the blizzard, the Hyannis Marathon, scheduled for Sunday, March 1, 2026, has been cancelled. Severe weather and unsafe road conditions pose safety risks for participants, volunteers, and spectators. Safety is our top priority, and after careful consideration, it was determined that proceeding with the event would not be safe.
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Three regional shelters remain open at Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School (103 people), Barnstable Intermediate School (119 people) people and Cape Cod Tech in Harwich (60 people).
Other shelters are also open at the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Community & Government Center, Provincetown Community Center and the Nantucket Intermediate School.
Eversource said they made a lot of progress in the overnight hours on Wednesday and that crews from Rhode Island were on the way to Cape Cod on Thursday.
They previously released a “global restoration” time of Friday night at midnight for 99% of power on Cape Cod to be restored and said on Thursday morning that they were still holding to that timeframe. More specific times are available at www.eversource.com. (As of noon, 36,361 customers were without power on the Cape).
1:15 PM update: Updating the BREAKING NEWS, The Barnstable County Sheriff’s communications center which handles dispatch for many Cape fire departments and 911 services for many towns has experienced a major failure. CWN is still waiting to hear from the Sheriff’s spokesperson on exactly what occurred, but we have learned dispatchers are utilizing a mobile command unit for radio dispatch. 911 calls are going through but are being redirected to an alternate locations. Repeat-911 is working.
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From Eastham Police: This morning, we conducted multiple meetings with Eversource. We are currently sitting at about 52% without power as of this call. Eversource expects to substantially finish restoration in town by 6 pm. Most customers will be back on before then. Right now, Eversource has about 40 restoration crews in town, working jobs that will bring 4,900 customers back to service. More crews are on the way to help finish the work. That means that by 6pm this evening, 99% of our community should have power restored.
Also, at an emergency meeting held this morning, the Eastham Select Board voted to declare a local state of emergency in response to ongoing conditions affecting the community. This declaration enables local emergency management officials to access additional state and regional resources, secure supplemental funding, and coordinate more effectively with partner agencies to support response and recovery efforts. Town officials emphasized that this action is intended to accelerate assistance, restore essential services, and ensure the safety and well-being of Eastham residents as recovery efforts move forward.
The Eastham Public Library at 190 Samoset Road will be open as a warming center today from 8am-9pm. The Council on Aging at 1405 Nauset Road will also open as a warming center if the library begins to fill.
Hang in there Eastham! Representatives from Eastham Police, Fire, and DPW are all present in our Emergency Operations Center at the police department and are working hard to provide Eversource whatever resources they need to make this process as fast as possible. We are very hopeful that today is the day that things start to turn around and Eastham begins to return to normal.
2 PM update: Bourne’s public safety/emergency management team has started assessing damage from the storm and has found some significant erosion to Sagamore Beach. Currently the boat ramp / access ramp at the Sagamore Road lot of the town beach is NOT safe to utilize and is closed. In addition, the stairs for public access to the beach from Crab Rock Way is also closed due to significant beach erosion in the area. These will remain closed until further assessment and/or repairs can be made. (Photos by Bourne Police/CWN)
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From Fire: Right now, the Dennis Fire Department phone lines have gone down. You will not be able to get anyone on the phone using any business numbers.
CALL 911 IF YOU NEED FIRE OR EMS SERVICES as you normally would in an emergency.
If you have a business-related matter for the Fire Department, you can call the police department business line at 508-394-1313. We will do our best to help and relay administrative concerns.
Update 5:15 PM: Three regional shelters remain open at Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School (30 people), Barnstable Intermediate School (45 people) people and Cape Cod Tech in Harwich (42 people). Other shelters are also open at the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Community & Government Center, Provincetown Community Center and the Nantucket Intermediate School.
Eversource said crews remain dispatched across Cape Cod in the effort to restore power. As of late Thursday, there were 37,000 customers without power in the Eversource service territory – with the majority of those outages on Cape Cod.
Comcast said they also had crews responding around the clock to get their customers back online on Cape Cod, Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard. They were hoping to get most customers back online in the next couple of days.
Officials from the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency said they continued to assist local officials in the response and would continue to provide assistance as needed.
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Power update as of 5:15, 24,532 customers are without power.
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House fire Route 6A in Barnstable (Glow is from light on fire truck).
John P. Carroll/CWN
5:30 PM update: BREAKING NEWS: Fire reported in the basement of a house on Main Street (Route 6A) near Keveney Lane. Route 6A was closed due to apparatus and hoses in the roadway. No injuries were reported.
David Curran/Satellite News Service/CWN
6:15 PM update: BREAKING NEWS: Provincetown rescuers worked an incident at MacMillan Wharf. Report of a medical emergency on a fishing vessel involving two people possibly exposed to carbon monoxide. A 3rd ambulance was called to the scene for an evaluation. As of 7:15 PM a Mass Casualty Incident (MCI) was declared with 5 ambulances called to the scene. As of 7:45, a total of 5 people were transported to Cape Cod Hospital.
Update from Provincetown Police at 9:30 PM: On Thursday, February 26, 2026, at approximately 5:59 PM, Provincetown Police and Fire Department responded to MacMillian Pier for a report of an unresponsive individual on a boat in the harbor. Upon arrival, the Provincetown Police Officers entered the boat and located a second unresponsive individual as well. First responders extricated both patients, who were transported to Cape Cod Hospital. Due to the first responders exposure to carbon monoxide, they were also evaluated. A Mass Casualty Incident was called due to the number of patients, which outnumbered the number of available ambulances. This MCI enabled Provincetown to request an ambulance from surrounding communities, including Truro, Wellfleet, and Eastham. In total, 8 individuals were transported to Cape Cod Hospital for further evaluation.
9:30 PM update: The Barnstable County Sheriff’s communications center reported it was fully operational again. CWN is still waiting for a response from the Sheriff’s office on the situation.
11:30 PM update: At this time power outages on the Cape are down to 7,233 customers. For full disclosure, Eversource has added a disclaimer to their outage map that not all of the outages are related to the blizzard.
