GOSHEN - It was a wild week in Goshen - and an expensive one.

The Dec. 11-12 storm that laid thick sheets of ice over higher elevations in Massachusetts put highway and emergency responders on 24-hour work duty for days.

The storm wiped out Goshen's Loomis Road, cracked tombstones in the town's cemetery and sent tons of tree limbs and various debris crashing down through power lines and into the roads. Some residents lost power for more than a week.

The ice storm could cost Goshen about $460,000.

"Now, everything is in pretty good shape," said Larry Holmberg, emergency manager for Goshen and Chesterfield, "but there's still a lot of stuff that we're not going to see. It's covered by snow and we won't see it until the spring."

This month's ice storm cut power to 22,000 homes in western Massachusetts and caused Gov. Deval L. Patrick to initiate a state of emergency and mobilize 500 National Guard members to assist in clean-up efforts statewide. The hardest-hit region was northern Worcester County.

Cities and towns affected by the storm have filed cost estimates with the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA). Pioneer Valley towns logged in with estimates of damage from $5,000 to more than $500,000.

The projections were compiled using a formula provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and do not necessarily reflect the actual costs towns incurred.

For example, FEMA has a set per hour amount a town must use for each firefighter called to assist in an emergency, but these costs are above wages paid to Chesterfield's volunteer firefighters. In some cases, FEMA figures overestimate the cost to towns, said Peter Judge, director of communications at MEMA.

"This thing is going to take on a life of its own," said Judge, who noted MEMA is still crunching numbers for the state.

If MEMA finds Massachusetts cities and towns spent more than $8.3 million on storm clean-up and disaster-related humanitarian assistance, the state will file with the Federal Emergency Management Agency for reimbursement of 75 percent of municipal disaster expenditures. At this point, municipalities will have to come up with concrete costs, backed up by receipts and time cards.

"Right now it looks like we might have a chance to qualify as a state and therefore, the counties most greatly impacted - Worcester and the four Western counties - would get their money," Judge said.

Valley costs

Of the towns hit by the early December ice storm, Worthington leaders projected the highest clean up costs, at $500,000.

Highway Superintendent Cork Nugent said the money would cover overtime pay, debris clean up, damage to equipment and damage to the roofs on a few of the town's municipal buildings.

Storm costs are not expected to adversely affect town budgets, as snow and ice costs are often exceeded and towns regularly spend more than they have allocated. Snow and ice costs are covered at the end of the year, at the start of a new budget cycle.

Officials are also fairly certain they will receive assistance from FEMA and possibly the state Legislature which, when a state of emergency is declared, typically covers 12.5 percent of disaster costs. It is unclear whether the state will pick up any of the disaster tab.

After Goshen, with its $460,000 projection, the next hardest-hit town by dollar value was Williamsburg. Officials estimate the storm cost the town $220,000. The estimate includes the $5,000 to $6,000 in damage done to the town's oldest and smallest fire truck, when a tree fell on the vehicle during clean-up efforts.

"It was the one that could get to the most places," said Steven Herzberg, Williamsburg's town administrator. "I think they're still using it, but it will have to be fixed."

Plainfield estimated the storm cost it $200,000. This figure not only includes debris clean-up and overtime pay, but also the cost to run a shelter at the Public Safety Building for a week. During the storm, Plainfield, along with Worthington, Goshen, Chesterfield, Cummington, lost access to power for days. Many people were left without water. The Plainfield shelter provided people with heat, food and hot showers.

Merton Taylor Jr., the town's emergency manager, said Plainfield was able to successfully weather the storm with the aid of 50 volunteers, which included police, fire, emergency medical responders and residents, who helped clear roads and operate the shelter.

"People just showed up and asked, 'What can I do?" Taylor recalled. "I've got to say thank you to those 50-plus volunteers who really put in everything they had to help open up the roads and keep people as safe as possible."

Early estimates may rise

Cummington officials estimated the storm could cost the town $190,000, mostly in debris clean-up costs. Bernard Forgea, the town's fire chief, said costs could escalate after the snow melts and debris reemerges.

"We got a lot of clean up to do in spring," Forgea said. "How do we know how much it will cost? We're not cleaned up."

Chesterfield officials estimated the ice storm could cost the town about $180,500. Most of the costs were accrued in overtime pay, said David Kielson, a member of the town's Board of Selectmen. Reviewing payroll records, Kielson said the paychecks that went out last week, which included work done during the storm, represented the "largest payroll ever."

Other area towns affected by the storm are estimating that clean-up costs will run under $100,000. Shutesbury anticipates the storm cost the town $70,000.

Pelham is estimating storm costs at around $25,000, but that figure may go up, said Richard Adamcek, the town's highway superintendent. As is the situation for many towns, this past week's snowstorm has halted ice storm debris clean-up efforts by burying debris in a foot of snow. Adamcek said he will not know the full extent of the ice storm's damage until the snow melts in the spring. "The snowstorm put a stop to our clean-up efforts," said Adamcek, who added that several streets - including Packardville, Enfield, Amherst and North Valley - were decimated by the storm. "This is gong to carry into the spring."

Huntington officials estimated $12,000 in clean-up costs, which includes heavy damage to Piziak and Searle roads and help from firefighters who assisted in road clean-up efforts.

The town of Leverett estimated damages to be around $5,000.

"We really lucked out," said Sue Nagy, administrative assistant at Leverett's highway garage. "We dodged a bullet, for sure."

Staff Writer Nick Grabbe contributed to this article.