LePage, other officials survey damage from storm - Morning Sentinel

Posted: August 30
Updated: Today at 10:15 PM

By Scott Monroe smonroe@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer

Sugarloaf Mountain Resort became the most high-profile victim of Tropical Storm Irene in Maine when heavy flooding washed out two state-owned bridges on Route 27, cutting off the resort's primary access points to the north and south.

But by Monday afternoon, even as state officials said the bridge destruction had "effectively isolated" the resort, Sugarloaf officials said a detour had been established on the southern end so people could still get there. The private gravel road winds through the Twin Brook condominium community and eventually connects to the resort's main access road.

Gov. Paul LePage personally inspected the damaged bridges near Sugarloaf Monday morning, as well as flooded locations in Phillips and Rumford.

Sunday afternoon and evening, heavy wind gusts of 20 to 30 mph knocked down numerous trees, many of which tore down power lines and blocked roads.

In the greater Waterville area, residents and business owners awoke Monday morning to partly sunny skies -- and many faced the prospect of cleaning up piles of leaves and tree branches. Still others in more rural areas of central Maine were without power after nearly 24 hours.

About 135,000 customers of Central Maine Power remained without electricity by Monday at 5 p.m., including 24,086 in Kennebec County, 4,640 in Somerset County, 4,095 in Waldo County, and 2,605 in Franklin County.

There was just one report of someone being injured in central Maine during the storm: Nicole Truscott, 20, of 9 Pleasant St., Waterville. Truscott and her boyfriend were walking on the sidewalk along Pleasant Street about 4 p.m. Sunday, near their home, when they heard a crackling sound. They started running, but the large tree limb came crashing down on Truscott's leg, ankle and shoulder.

She later went to Inland Hospital and had her swollen and possibly-fractured ankle wrapped.

"It was pretty scary," Truscott said Monday as she leaned on crutches. "Just before that, we walked through a tree that had fallen down and I said, 'I hope one don't fall on us.' Well, it was like three minutes (when she was hit). I jinxed myself."

During one stretch of strong winds Sunday afternoon, Waterville firefighters responded to about 50 calls of downed trees, while Winslow took another 20 calls. Both departments were so swamped with call after call, they were still entering the backlog into their system records Monday. Public works crews joined area firefighters in cutting and moving downed trees.

"That's exactly what we were expecting," said David LaFountain, fire chief for Waterville and Winslow. "But it's a good thing it didn't go on any longer."

LaFountain said officials were considering opening a public shelter up at Waterville Junior High School, but instead helped make arrangements for a handful of people to stay elsewhere, such as in local hotels.

"In one case, a tree came down in the driveway and took out the entrance head and brought a wire down close to the ground and there was still power in the house," LaFountain said. "They looked at their situation and said, 'We're going to a hotel.'"

Just before 6 p.m. on U.S. Route 201 in Winslow, a tree came crashing down on a car with people inside it. By the time firefighters arrived, the people were out of the car and said they were unharmed, according to Winslow fire records.

The response to those calls also faced a brief interruption during the afternoon when the power went out for the Waterville Communications Center and its emergency backup generator didn't start, according to Waterville Police Chief Joseph Massey. Responders weren't severely affected, because they could still use portable radios and 911 calls are received by other dispatch centers, Massey said.

Officials began to open a backup communications center at the Waterville Fire Department, but the generator at the police station was restarted about 20 minutes later, Massey said.

"Overall, we were able to handle all the calls that came in and there was no disruption in services from emergency departments," Massey said. "We didn't experience any flooding that required action. I think we escaped the brunt of it."

Sugarloaf, though, got whacked with about 8.5 inches of rain from Tropical Storm Irene, flooding nearby rivers, according to the resort.

In a news release, Sugarloaf officials said Monday the bridge north of Sugarloaf, which crosses the South Branch of Carrabassett River, was damaged and is impassable. That crossing connects with the Eustis and Stratton areas and all points to the south.

The bridge to the south of Sugarloaf, which is about 500 feet from the resort's main access road, was also demolished by flooding, though officials said Monday afternoon that a detour to the resort had been established on a gravel road just before the bridge.

That section of Route 27 is a key road, because it also takes traffic north into Quebec.

In addition, two golf cart bridges were damaged on the Sugarloaf Golf Club, which is owned by the town of Carrabassett Valley and operated by the resort. Those bridges provide access to tee boxes on the north side of the South Branch of the Carrabassett River. The golf course bridges are being inspected and will reopen to cart traffic when deemed safe, repaired or replaced, the release said.

"Despite the rain and damage to the aforementioned bridges, the resort's business operations will continue as usual," the release said. "All conferences, weddings, scenic lift rides, zipline tours and resort amenities -- including restaurants, retail operations and the Sugarloaf Outdoor Center -- are continuing as normal."

Lynette Miller, spokeswoman for the Maine Emergency Management Agency, said the washed out bridges on Route 27 amounted to "the worst situation" being handled statewide by the Department of Transportation.

"They're assessing and looking at actual damages in the short and long term," Miller said.

Mark Latti, spokesman for the transportation department, said two short-term options are being considered: "enhancing" private dirt roads so they can connect to the access road, or installing a temporary bridge. The long-term solution is to replace both bridges, he said.

State officials also established a detour for Route 27: from Kingfield, Route 142 to Phillips, then Route 4 from Phillips to Rangeley, then Route 16 from Rangeley to Stratton.

Franklin County dispatcher Stan Wheeler said other roads in Franklin County experienced minor flooding, with some portions of Route 4 reduced to one lane of traffic because of high water.

Latti said Route 16 from Kingfield to New Portland and the North Anson area also experienced flooding from the Carrabassett River; sections of the route were closed Sunday night and reopened to one lane of traffic Monday.

High water closed a bridge on Route 4 in nearby Madrid, but it was structurally sound and was expected to reopen soon.

Scott Monroe -- 861-9239

smonroe@centralmaine.com

30 Aug, 2011

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