Tornadoes hit County
Staff photo/Kathy McCarty
RESTORING POWER and clearing downed trees was the order of the day Thursday morning, June 9, on the Garfield Road near the intersection with the Realty Road, near Gateway Variety in Ashland.
High winds and heavy rain early Wednesday evening knocked down trees and power lines in the Ashland and Castle Hill area of Aroostook County. Officials have confirmed a tornado touched down in Ashland on Wednesday, with two others reported elsewhere in the County — another on Wednesday near Little Madawaska Lake and a third on Thursday in Fort Fairfield.
Three tornadoes have been confirmed over a two-day period in Aroostook County, including one that struck in the Ashland area on Wednesday, June 8, and another that touched down in Fort Fairfield on Thursday, June 9. A third occurred in the Little Madawaska Lake on Wednesday.
Staff photo/Kathy McCarty
THE CURRIER ROAD in Fort Fairfield was partially eroded as the result of Thursday’s storm, as flash flooding caused water to rush from the farm field on one side to lower ground on the opposite side. Several roads in the community were damaged as the result of the storm.
Estimates continue to rise as more damage is discovered and reported. In Ashland, Route 11 north of the community saw a number of trees blown down, with two older farm houses sustaining minimal damage when trees fell against the structures. Wednesday’s storm proved to be a bit scary for one family living in the area.
“We had several blow-downs behind our house. Power outages were sporadic, with the left side of town being out while the right had electricity,” said Jamie Blair, who spent part of the storm in the basement with her three sons.
Blair said she first heard about the possibility of tornadoes from an aunt. It wasn’t until she received a call from her grandfather that she took the report seriously.
“My aunt called, frantic, saying there was a tornado warning for Portage. It wasn’t until my grandfather called telling me to get my butt to the basement that I really believed a tornado was possible,” she said.
She and her three sons — Gavin, 3, Chandler, 11, and Cody, 14 — moved to the basement, listening to the rain increase and the wind pick up.
“It bothered my middle son the most. I have two dogs and a cat; only one of the dogs seemed affected. My husband was working on a roofing project on the Wrightville Road and didn’t know anything about the possibility of a tornado until his co-worker turned the radio on in their vehicle,” Blair said.
Staff photo/Kathy McCarty
DOWNED TREES rest against a vacant home on Route 11 in Ashland, following Wednesday’s storm that brought heavy rains and high wind to the area.
At one point, the wind was blowing so hard, it blew her house door open.
“My back door has a magnetic latch and the wind blew it open. I tried to push a dresser against it to keep it shut, but the wind caught the door and blew me and the dresser back. That’s when I decided to forget the door and head back to the basement,” said Blair. “The storm got quite intense for a while, but luckily our home didn’t sustain any damage.”
The storm hit hardest at the Garfield Road intersection northeast of town, as you head toward the Industrial Park around 7:15 p.m. Dozens of trees and power lines were downed by what has since been determined to have been a tornado. The road was closed to traffic for about 24 hours as crews worked to clear debris and repair lines. Some trees measured more than two feet in diameter.
Crews were also on scene Thursday clearing trees downed along Route 163 west of Haystack Mountain. The storm tracked from Ashland, through Castle Hill and on through Chapman, toppling trees and blowing shingles and siding from a few homes. No injuries were reported as the result of Wednesday’s storm.
Thursday brought the second round of high winds and heavy rain — this time to the eastern portion of The County.
Sgt. Shawn Newell, of the Fort Fairfield Police Department, was enjoying a day off golfing when the storm hit around 4 p.m.
“I sat in my vehicle for a bit in the parking lot, watching it rain. The wind was rocking my SUV and I could see other parked cars moving as the wind and rain hit them,” said Newell, who was unable to get back to town due to downed power lines. “I had to wait nearly four hours before they had the road cleared for traffic,” noting that lightning struck twice at the golf course before it even started to rain.
Much of the damage in the Fort Fairfield area involved erosion of fields and flash flooding. George Watson, director of Fort Fairfield’s Public Works Department, said Friday it would be several weeks before the damage could be repaired.
“There was flooding in the areas of the Center Limestone Road, West Limestone Road, Reed Road and several other roads. The Flannery Road was closed Friday until we could get it cleared of debris,” he said.
Watson said that flash flooding was a big problem.
“Fields were super saturated, given all the rain that fell on Wednesday. We had a lot of erosion along the Center Limestone, West Limestone and East Limestone roads. We had to push trees out of the way on the Flannery Road. We had trees down there with power lines under them, causing a very hazardous situation,” said Watson.
According to Watson, the storm “cut a swath from the Strickland Road to U.S. Route 1.”
“We’re seeing ditches with water where water’s never been. There are farms where the field’s gone — soil and potatoes have been washed into ditches,” he said.
Watson said while there are culverts in place to handle runoff from area fields, they’re now clogged with mud and debris.
“They got clogged and the water had nowhere to go but over the roads,” said Watson, who said his low estimate on the damage he’d seen was at least $50,000.
“That estimate will go up I’m sure. When the water clears and we can see the full extent of the damage, I’m sure that figure will be higher,” he said. “It will be six to eight weeks before my crew has the roadways back to what they were before the storm.”
ATV clubs in the area are warning riders to use extreme caution. The Caribou club has closed trails for the next week or two due to blow-downs and washouts. The Star City ATV Club has temporarily shut down the trail to Caribou and in the Burlock Road area. Club members have already begun clearing trails but estimate the work could take weeks and advise caution when traveling, due to storm damage. The cost of cleanup is estimated in the thousands. For more information, to volunteer or to make a donation
toward cleanup, visit www.starcityatv.com.
Sen. Susan Collins was in Aroostook County on Friday and toured the storm-affected areas.
“It was particularly worrisome to see the extensive damage to the recently planted potato fields, with some of the crop washed away and deep gullies form the more than five inches of rain we had over just two days,” said Collins.
As the ranking member of the Committee on Homeland Security, Collins said she would work closely with federal, state and local officials “to assist Aroostook County get the help needed to rebuild and recover, should the governor request assistance.”
Estimates have passed $1 million in weather-related damage from last week’s storms County-wide.
