AMHERST - When it comes to the feeding and heating of college students during a widespread power failure, local colleges have the drill down pat, even in a catastrophe.

At Smith College, the power plant on West Street, which works in tandem with the National Grid system, was knocked off line Saturday evening by fluctuations in the grid, college spokeswoman Kristen Cole said Monday, leaving most of the campus's buildings without electricity or heat.

An emergency response team quickly devised a plan to provide students with the basics: heat, power and food, according to Cole. She said an emergency shelter was set up in the campus center, where 100 cots were available for students who were not comfortable in their unheated houses. Dining Services provided cold meals through the day Sunday, and starting Monday morning, as power was restored, hot meals were prepared and ready for students. Smith was closed Monday, but expected to reopen today.

Meanwhile, the University of Massachusetts Amherst was spared the widespread electrical outages of the rest of the region because it has its own power plant, said spokesman Ed Blaguszewski.

"The situation remains fluid in terms of cleanup on campus," he said. "We're advising faculty, staff and students to exercise caution in coming in, because there are wires down near homes or they have to walk a distance around downed trees."

The region's other private colleges, Mount Holyoke, Amherst and Hampshire all closed Monday. Mount Holyoke and Amherst were expected to reopen today, while Hampshire was to remain closed for an additional day.

Campus Center draws

At UMass, the Campus Center and Student Union buildings are now open 24 hours a day, Blaguszewski said, becoming an impromptu refuge for the community.

"This is a place where people can gather, charge their cellphones, use the study rooms and get hot food," he said. "It is not a shelter where people can sleep." These buildings are open to the public and not just UMass students and staff, he said.

The cleanup will continue for several days, Blaguszewski said.

"It will be a transitional period and there will be hardships and difficulties to work through, but I think there will be enough access to campus for most people to resume operations," he said.

On Sunday, 26,000 meals were served on campus, he said. "There's a sense that a lot of students from off campus ate at the Campus Center because the options for dining were limited."

Some faculty members may be unable to come to campus today, Blaguszewski said. "We recognize that, and will adjust and accommodate as best we can," he said.

At Amherst College, "It will be business as usual, except for a few buildings that will still be closed, mostly for the advancement staff," said spokesman Peter Rooney. Power had been restored to most campus buildings by Sunday evening, he said.

On Monday morning, with classes canceled, about 200 Amherst students helped drag away tree branches that had fallen during the snowstorm, Rooney said.

They pulled the branches to the edge of campus, where a tree service will have easy access to them, he said.

Most of the staff remained home Monday, Rooney said. Most students were "stoic" about the snowstorm and power outage and were busy studying, he said.

At Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, power was restored to most of the campus Monday morning, according to the college's website. Staff members worked through the night to clear the campus of storm debris. Lunch and dinner were served at one site Sunday and Monday, but normal dining schedules were expected to resume today.

About 130 students from Hampshire College took shelter at the Mount Holyoke field house Sunday night, and may remain on campus until power is restored at Hampshire, according to the website.

At Hampshire, flyers were posted on campus buildings Sunday night advising students who live within 100 miles of the campus to go home, and to take other students with them if they could.

Other students were told to stay in their houses, as the campus was expected to be without power and heat indefinitely, according to the flyers.

At Smith, the campus lost Internet connections and land line telephone service. Cole said students were kept up to date with college messages via automated cellphone calls and text messaging. The dependence on cellphones had students lined up at the campus power plant to plug into one of the few working outlets to recharge their phones, Cole said.