Courtesy photo from the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency A convoy of heavy trucks and plows from Pennsylvania and local Department of Public Works trucks travels through Cranston on Feb. 26.

How many additional states does it take to help the smallest one in the nation dig out from its largest blizzard on record? Four. Possibly five.

Connecticut, Maine, Pennsylvania, and Vermont have answered Rhode Island’s call to lend some of its crews and equipment to assist with the big dig across the state after a historic storm dumped 37.9 inches of snow at the state’s Warwick airport between Sunday night and Monday. New Hampshire might be next.

Romeo Mendes, head of Cumberland’s Department of Public Works, said a crew from Vermont worked Thursday morning in the northern part of town clearing snow away from wells that local vehicles can’t access.

“We would have had to wait for melting or walk to these sites,” he said in a phone interview at around 3 p.m. “By about noontime, they pretty much had all the water facilities clear. Now they’re down in the Valley Falls area widening roads and cleaning things up.”

Help from other states comes under the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, a mutual aid agreement between all 50 states to help with disaster recovery. Rhode Island will reimburse the other states for the cost of providing assistance. The total is still being calculated, Rhode Island EMA spokesperson Courtney Marciano said in an email Thursday.

Gov. Dan McKee said Wednesday he remains hopeful the federal government will pick up much of Rhode Island’s tab. The state’s congressional delegation on Monday sent a letter to the Trump administration seeking an emergency declaration, which would open up the process for the state to request federal aid and assistance through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

“There is no reason FEMA cannot utilize the more than $9 billion currently in the Disaster Relief Fund, which continues to be available during a shutdown,” the letter stated.

But during his State of the Union address Tuesday, Trump made it clear he’d only consider helping states impacted by the blizzard if congressional Democrats agree to fund the Department of Homeland Security, which shut down Feb. 14. Democrats withheld support for the GOP’s funding bill in a push for restrictions and guardrails on the activities of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) officers.

FEMA is overseen by the Department of Homeland Security.

“We’d love to give you a hand at cleaning it up, but you gave no money,” Trump said during Tuesday night’s speech.

A FEMA spokesperson did not immediately respond to request for comment.

Approximately 15 Vermont Agency of Transportation workers joined McKee at a news conference Wednesday at the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency’s (EMA) Cranston warehouse. The Green Mountain State sent five dump trucks and five front-end loaders to the Ocean State early Wednesday afternoon as part of a larger convoy assisting both Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

“I love the smell of Vermont diesel in the morning,” outgoing Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) Director Peter Alviti Jr. said then.

Out-of-state trucks are being deployed by the EMA and RIDOT to where they’re needed the most such as Providence and then to other communities that have requested assistance, McKee said. Vermont’s live plow tracker showed trucks in Cumberland, East Providence and Providence on Thursday afternoon.

Eight front loaders and 10 dump trucks began work 5 a.m. Thursday after arriving from Pennsylvania on Wednesday, Marciano said.

Crews from Vermont and Pennsylvania are expected to remain in Rhode Island for the next five days to assist with the recovery efforts before they head back, Marciano said.

Four blowers from Connecticut were split between North Kingstown and Westerly as of Thursday. Crews from the Nutmeg State are expected to assist Rhode Island through Monday, Marciano said.

“We’re sending @CTDOTOfficial crews to support @MassGovernor and @GovDanMcKee as they recover from this historic storm,” Gov. Ned Lamont posted to X Wednesday afternoon. We’ve been in their shoes before and we’ll always answer the call to help our neighbors .

“New England shows up for each other when it matters most,” Lamont added.

Maine is slated to provide 10 dump trucks and 24 National Guard soldiers, Marciano said. Maine’s crews left for Rhode Island at around 10:45 a.m. Thursday, its National Guard confirmed in an email to Rhode Island Current. The Maine contingent comes from the 120th Regional Support Group’s 133rd Engineer Battalion and 286th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion.

New Hampshire officials have responded to Rhode Island’s request to provide assistance and was expected to make resources available, Marciano said. But the Granite State had not deployed any resources as of Thursday afternoon, its Department of Safety’s Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management confirmed in an email.

Connecticut-based equipment was seen on the streets of Providence. But city spokesperson Josh Estrealla clarified they’re among the independent vendors contracted to clear out Rhode Island’s capital.

Plows are focusing solely on main roads and hospital routes, Estrella said.

“They can’t go on small streets,” he said.

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Rhode Island Current is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Rhode Island Current maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Janine L. Weisman for questions: info@rhodeislandcurrent.com.