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A2 UP FRONT
Thursday 21 december 2023

Christmas is in jeopardy for some New Englanders after storms and flooding

knocked out power

strong. Coastal flooding,
beach erosion.”
Several ski resorts in Maine
that were forced to close due
to flooding announced they
were cleaning up and plan-
ning to reopen in the coming
days. Officials at Sugarloaf
Mountain said they were
cleaning up Wednesday and
planned to open Thursday.
At Sunday River ski resort in
western Maine, officials said
they planned to reopen Sat-
urday. A third resort, Saddle-
back in Rangely, Maine, was
also forced to closed and
planned to reopen Friday.
Most of the resorts were
still assessing the damage.
But it was clear they were
hit hard. A road leading to
Sunday River Grand Summit
Hotel and Conference Center
washed out Monday after-
noon after a brook running
alongside the resort burst its
banks. The Gould Academy
competition center there also
was filled with several feet of
mud and ice.
Dirk Gouwens, executive di-
rector of Ski Maine, a nonprof-
it that represents ski interests
in the state, said all of the 19
ski areas in the state closed
Cars are flooded in a parking lot at the Hathaway Creative Center alongside the Kennebec River, Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2023, in or chose not to open due to
Waterville, Maine. the floods. The reason was
Associated Press not due to damage to the
resorts but because access
Continued from Front far behind on holiday chores. the coming days but they northeastern Pennsylvania. on roads to many ski areas
“I was on my way to mild to remained dangerously high Portions of several other states was hampered.
It’s a scene playing out all moderate hysteria,” she said. and posed a serious risk in got more than 4 inches (10 “Most of the damage was
over northern New England, People across the northeast- many parts of the state. The centimeters), according to done to the road infrastruc-
where the havoc wrought by ern U.S. were still mopping Kennebec River, which runs the National Weather Service. ture around the state, mostly
an unexpectedly strong storm up Wednesday after the through Augusta, and the Utility crews worked to restore due to culverts washing out,
has made the festive season storm dumped torrential Sandy, Swift, Carrabassett power to customers after the rivers overflowing their banks,”
anything but. rains and brought damag- and Androscoggin rivers were powerful storm. Wind gusts Gouwens said. “The main
The heavy pre-Christmas ing winds from Pennsylvania all seeing higher water lev- reached nearly 70 mph (113 issue is access and getting
storm that hit Monday has to Maine, as some rivers in els than typical, leading to kph) along the New England around the state. There are
brought dangerous flooding the region rose even higher. damage and closures, the shoreline. still tons of roads that are
and widespread power out- Some of the worst damage Maine Department of Trans- Mills declared a civil state of closed.”
ages to Maine. The aftermath was in Vermont and Maine. portation said. emergency for most of Maine, Some towns in Vermont,
of the storm has left hundreds Others, such as Ellen Briggs of Mills urged people in heav- noting the storm had “caused which had suffered major
of thousands in the dark, Portland, were tending to the ily impacted areas to avoid significant flooding and in- flooding from a storm in
closed ski resorts, washed thousands of downed trees travel Wednesday. It was a frastructure damage, includ- July, were seeing more flood
out roads, closed bridges that fell in the storm. tough blow just before the ing to the state’s federal-aid damage. Five months after
and caused families to throw “Now there’s a lot of debris holiday, Mills said. highways.” flooding inundated Vermont’s
away spoiled holiday food. to clean up,” said Briggs, “It can’t be ignored that this It is the kind of weather event capital, water entered the
It’s unclear when everyone who had a 60-foot (18-me- storm arrives just a few days that is becoming “the new basements of some down-
will have power back, but of- ter) white pine collapse in before Christmas, a time of norm” in Maine in the era of town Montpelier businesses as
ficials and utilities in the state her yard. joy,” Mills said. “For many in climate change and more the city monitored the level
have said some will have to At least five people in East Maine that may no longer severe storms, said Pete Rog- of the Winooski River.
wait until the holiday. Coast states were killed in the be the case. People dealing ers, director of the Maine “Seeing homes and busi-
In South Berwick, Jessica Hy- storms with deaths reported with the loss of their homes Emergency Management nesses surrounded by water
land was relieved when her in Pennsylvania, New York, and damage to property.” Agency. once again has been heart-
power finally snapped back Massachusetts and Maine. The storm hit many states, “I think we’re going to see breaking,” Vermont Gov. Phil
on Wednesday morning. But Democratic Maine Gov. and more than 5 inches multihazard events,” Rogers Scott told reporters Tuesday.
she still had not been able to Janet Mills said water levels (13 centimeters) of rain fell said. “They come out very “I can’t imagine the toll that
buy a Christmas tree and was were expected to drop in in parts of New Jersey and fast, they come out very has on anyone.”q