FRANKLIN COUNTY – Monday’s storm delivered as much as six or more inches of rain along with high winds to the greater Franklin County area. Days later, the region is still navigating the effects of the storm.
Several fire departments in Franklin County responded to a record number of calls during and following the storm and flood event on Monday, December 18. With the majority of the fire departments in the county consisting of on-call volunteers, this has taken crews away from their regular jobs and from their homes for extended periods of time to respond to the high volume of calls.
New Sharon Fire Chief Felicia Bell said that in the 48 hours during and following the storm, New Sharon Fire responded to between 35 and 40 calls, a record-breaking call volume for that short time frame.
Chief Fred Nichols reported that Kingfield Fire responded to approximately 30 calls in a 24-hour period during and after the storm. “I have never seen anything like it,” Chief Nichols said, adding that this is the highest call volume Kingfield Fire has ever recorded in a 24-hour period.
North of Kingfield, Eustis Fire responded to 22 calls during the storm. Not all were directly related to the storm, Chief Sprague Wise reported; some were for medical emergencies or welfare checks. This was a high call volume and likely the most calls the department has ever had in a single event, although wind storms in September and October have come close to that same call volume. Eustis Fire responded to calls for service from Wyman Township just north of Carrabassett Valley all the way to the Canadian border in Coburn Gore, along with calls along Route 16 between Stratton and Rangeley.
Similarly, Phillips Fire responded to 54 calls for service over the last couple days, setting a new record for the call volume in that time frame. This makes up more than 20 percent of their total year-to-date call volume, currently at 247 calls. Crews staged out of the Phillips Town Office and the Phillips Elementary School due to the fire station becoming unreachable; the station has since been reopened.
In just over a 12-hour period Monday, Franklin County Regional Communications Center dispatchers entered around 340 calls for service into the public safety computer aided dispatch system, according to Franklin RCC Director Brad Timberlake. The call volume continued to rise overnight and through the day Tuesday, with some calls related to the storm still coming through on Wednesday. Types of calls included trees/utility lines down; road hazards; service calls and citizen assistance calls; fire alarms, smoke alarms, and hazardous materials calls; motor vehicle crashes with personal injuries and crashes with property damage only; disabled motor vehicles; and welfare checks.
Franklin County Emergency Management Agency Director Amanda Simoneau urged continued caution while traveling roads in the county, even after the roads are deemed safe and opened for travel. “Our area in the last 7-8 months has had so much rain that we are still unsure of the integrity of the ground beneath, so with winter and the ground freezing there is still a chance of these roads eroding or sink holes appearing. And as always, do not drive through flooded waters, move cones and barricades or try to move telephone wires,” Simoneau said.
“Rangeley was certainly affected by this storm, but we were fortunate that our infrastructure suffered only relatively minor damage,” Rangeley Town Manager Joe Roach said. “Four town roads were closed at the peak of the storm. Three of those are now open to one lane traffic as crews make repairs. During the storm, power outages were minimal. We appreciate CMP and their affiliates for their work. Communication with Franklin County EMA was great. MaineDOT did a great job. We were relieved when the engineer reopened the Route 4 crossing over Cascade Stream. Having that connection to points south is critical for Rangeley.
“All departments of the town were focused, coordinated, and highly effective in their storm response efforts. Many employees worked long hours (some of them all night) keeping the community safe,” Roach concluded.
Jay Town Manager Shiloh LaFreniere was relieved that the storm did not cause significant damages to the areas already impacted by the storms in May and June. “Thankfully, in Jay, we fared better than many of the other areas,” LaFreniere said. “We had some damage to roads due to the rain and flooding but nothing like we had in May or June. The biggest impact for our public works was the debris from downed trees and a few washouts. Our emergency responders have been extremely busy responding to calls from residents that have been impacted by the flooding and loss of power.”
The Intervale in Farmington – Main Street and Front Street, in the area of Hippach Field and McDonald’s – was flooded by the Sandy River Monday afternoon and night. The businesses located along that stretch appeared closed Wednesday afternoon with cones and barriers across parking lot entrances, and parking lots covered in a layer of mud and debris left behind when the water receded. This area also flooded in the May 1 storms, but based on the visuals alone the aftermath seems worse from this flood. Other parts of Farmington flooded, leading to Farmington Fire effectively closing down the town Monday night until the water receded.
In Carrabassett Valley, multiple washouts on Route 27 resulted in the highway being closed down for over 24 hours. By late afternoon Tuesday, Route 27 was reopened, although there were multiple areas between Kingfield and Eustis with only one lane open to travel due to the severity of the damage. The shoulders of Route 27 through Kingfield and Carrabassett Valley have been washed out and undermined in so many places it was impossible to count, making travel conditions challenging.
Other areas of Franklin County also experienced severe flooding and significant damages. As municipalities work through the assessment process, more information will become available. Privately owned roads, driveways, and residences were flooded and washed out as well, resulting in displaced residents and those unable to access their homes.
As businesses, towns, the county, and the state continue damage assessments, more information about the extent of the damages and the estimated costs to repair will become available. At this time, it is not known whether the county and state have met the respective thresholds for a presidential disaster declaration which would open up federal funds to help with the costs of repairs. The damage assessments from municipal and state agencies are a critical component to moving forward as these assessments provide a baseline to see if there is sufficient damage to continue pursuing a disaster declaration from the federal government. If Maine receives a presidential disaster declaration, and if individual counties also reach the minimum threshold for damages to qualify for federal funding, there are still additional steps to be completed with the assistance of the Maine Emergency Management Agency and the county EMA before towns can receive reimbursements for repairs. Some towns in the county are still working through this validation process for the May and June storms.
There are many moving pieces to the recovery from this storm. In addition to the damage assessments, roads are still being repaired and reopened. Electricity and other utilities are still out in places across the county, with the causes still being investigated and with no known date for restoration.
Tom Donaghue, a Wilton resident, shared some good news with the greater Farmington community Wednesday afternoon, nearly two days after the power outages first began. “The Canadian Cavalry has arrived. There are some 40 utility vehicles staging in the parking lot between Farmington Drug and Big Lots. They’re from Ontario and just arrived from [New Hampshire.] I talked with some of the guys for a bit and thanked ’em for coming. They’re awaiting a safety briefing and deployment orders. One guy told me, “As we were wrapping up some things in New Hampshire, we were told – all of you, get the hell to Maine ASAP!” So they did.”
University of Maine at Farmington has set up sleeping quarters in the gym for up to 120 line workers, as well as designated parking space for approximately 60 utility vehicles in the High Street lot and Roberts Learning Center lot from Wednesday night until Saturday. This will allow a safe space for the utility crews to rest between assignments.
The Maine Department of Transportation issued an update Wednesday afternoon, saying that they are continuing to assess and repair damage caused by Monday’s rain and wind. The situation is dynamic, but as of 3 p.m. on Wednesday, there were 66 road closures and 25 bridge closures. More than half of those closures are in Franklin, Kennebec, and Oxford Counties. No bridges have collapsed due to this storm; most of the damage is on the approach roads to the bridges. Engineers are continuing to conduct on-site assessments. MaineDOT expects that an estimated cost of the infrastructure damage will not be available for several days.
After an early release day Monday in response to the storm, power outages, and threats of flooding, school districts across Franklin County cancelled school on Tuesday, and many also cancelled on Wednesday. For MSAD 58 and RSU 9, which have cancelled school for Thursday, there will be no school until after the winter break.
Wednesday afternoon RSU 9 Superintendent Christian Elkington wrote, “We continue to have multiple road concerns which translate into unsafe driving conditions in many of our communities. Town Road Crews are working feverishly to repair roads and CMP is getting to each downed or hanging power line as quickly and safely as they can. Unfortunately, the number of roads needing repair and the number of lines lying on or hanging across roads continue to be too numerous for us to safely pick up a majority of our students. Because of these concerns, along with one of our schools still without power, RSU 9 will not have school tomorrow, Thursday, December 21. We are deeply saddened that we have lost this time with our students before the December Break.”
Also during the afternoon Wednesday, MSAD 58 Superintendent Laura Columbia wrote, “After discussing with the administrative team today, we made the decision to cancel school for tomorrow, December 21, 2023. The road conditions have improved in many areas, but we currently do not have phones or internet at all of our schools. We will review our bus routes as the road conditions improve and notify families of any changes before our return from break on January 2. Thank you for your patience and understanding during this time.”
With residents still out of power, RSU 9 and Franklin County Emergency Management Agency have established a 24/7 county-wide emergency shelter at the Mt. Blue Campus in Farmington. This shelter was opened Wednesday night and will remain available until 12 p.m. on Saturday, December 23. The shelter provides a space for the community to get warm, have some food, take a warm shower, charge cell phones, and get some sleep. Cots and mats will be available in the gym; please bring your own bedding. Food and snacks will be available in the food court. Bring your own towel and soap for the showers. Go to Mt. Blue Campus at 129 Seamon Road in Farmington, and enter through door 9. Smoking, alcohol, drugs, and weapons of any kind are not allowed on the grounds of Mt. Blue Campus or any RSU 9 schools.
Franklin County public safety officials would like to remind the community to call 911 in an emergency. Resources and information can be found by calling 211 or visiting 211Maine.org.
