Storm knocks out power to region, floods roads
A wind and rain storm that left nearly 420,000 across Maine without power knocked out electricity across Piscataquis County and the surrounding areas Monday into Tuesday and beyond for some, forcing schools and businesses to close, and flooded many roads including some of the major travelways.
On its Facebook page, the Piscataquis County Emergency Management Agency is keeping a regularly updated list of road closures and openings from nearly a dozen communities. The agency reminds drivers to be mindful of barricades, saying these are there for a reason. Even without a road closure sign, do not move cones or barricades.
The Dover-Foxcroft Police Department is asking that everyone be mindful of not crossing people’s lawns or go through/past barricades in order to go around flooded areas. Flooded areas can have unknown objects, or depths and can turn an inconvenience into an emergency.
ROAD CLOSURE — Route 11 in Brownville Junction was closed on Tuesday after the Pleasant River rose by more than four feet over the road. Some residents of this part of town were evacuated by the Brownville Fire Department.
Everyone is urged to not approach or touch any downed lines. Those with an emergency should call 911. For non-emergency calls, please call Piscataquis Dispatch at 207-564-3304.
The heavy rain created a high flood risk across Piscataquis and Penobscot counties. Some residents in Brownville Junction were evacuated early Tuesday morning by the Brownville Fire Department because of flooding along the banks of the Pleasant River which crested onto and over Route 11 with officials closing the road. A temporary shelter was established at the Brownville Junction Fire Station at 52 Railroad Avenue.
The Brownville Fire Department reported four to five feet of water over Davis Road (Route 11) near the ball fields near Fisher Avenue. Residents along the Pleasant River were asked to stay alert for dangerous water conditions.
DAVIS FIELD FLOODING — Heavy rains and snowmelt led to the Pleasant River flooding Davis Field and the nearby area next to Route 11 in Brownville Junction.
The Piscataquis River reached its fourth-highest crest on record at 16.5 feet, dating back to 1902, in downtown Dover-Foxcroft on Tuesday morning, according to the National Weather service.
Piscataquis County EMA is asking everyone who has photos of flooding or trees/lines down to share the images with the agency on Facebook. A post reads, “Tell us your story! You have no idea how important it is for us to gather as much information about wind storm damage and flooding … this helps us build historical data to better predict and prepare for the next storm — which could be next week, next month or next year …
Post your pictures … and we’ll let the people vote for the best/worst, and that poster will receive a *very modest* prize bag from Piscataquis EMA!”
PISCATAQUIS RIVER FLOODING — The Piscataquis River reached its fourth-highest crest on record, dating back to 1902, in downtown Dover-Foxcroft on Tuesday morning, according to the National Weather service.
It’s unclear how long outages will persist, but Versant Power said in a Tuesday morning alert that it could take days to restore power to everyone with the same being true for Central Maine Power customers.
So far, at least two deaths have been confirmed from the storm. A man was killed in Fairfield when he was hit by a tree felled by the storm as it tried to move it with a tractor. Another man died when he was hit by a tree while clearing storm debris from his home in Windham.
Monday saw some temperature records broken in Bangor, Caribou, Houlton, and Millinocket, as well as precipitation records in Bangor, Caribou, and Houlton. In Bangor, the highs reached 61 degrees Fahrenheit, breaking the record of 53 degrees set on the same day in 1954. Bangor saw a record 2.52 inches of rain, exceeding the record for the date of 0.68 inches, set in 1975, according to the weather service.
The Bangor Daily News’ Christopher Burns contributed to this story.