Receding waters bring relief, hope to northern Aroostook

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FORT KENT – Bernard Caron was eager to return home Thursday even though his one-story apartment still sat under several feet of water.

The 68-year-old has been living with relatives since Tuesday night when he was evacuated from his Dufour Street home with just the clothes on his back.

On Thursday afternoon, Caron said the surging waters of the St. John and Fish rivers, which reached record heights this week, probably filled his apartment to the ceiling. He surmised that all of his clothing, furniture and photographs of his family would be unsalvageable, but was eager to get back home nonetheless.

“I like the place, it was nice and quiet,” said the disabled Caron, who retired to Fort Kent about nine years ago to be closer to family after living and working construction most of his life in Connecticut and New York. “It was close to everything, making it easy for me to get around,” he said of his apartment.

The flooding has “turned everything upside down,” he said as he sought help replacing some of his medications at the Red Cross shelter set up at the University of Maine at Fort Kent Sports Center.

“I, like others, will have to start over,” said Caron, who was one of about 1,000 residents evacuated Tuesday and Wednesday.

The St. John River peaked early Thursday at 30.14 feet – about 5 feet above flood stage in Caron’s East Main Street neighborhood – before the water slowly began to recede, according to Greg Stewart of the U.S. Geological Survey. The river’s previous record crest of 27.3 feet was set in 1979.

The river had dropped to 27.75 feet by 3:45 p.m. Thursday and continued to recede. Cool weather was helping the area again Thursday as temperatures remained in the 40s, slowing snowmelt and runoff. Forecasters predicted the river would fall below flood stage Friday morning.

But residents of the East Main Street district, where the landmark St. Louis Catholic Church and more than 100 homes and businesses were flooded, were not likely to be allowed back until the weekend. Officials want the homes to be inspected for safety before letting people back in.

Officials urged people to have their drinking water evaluated after the disaster. Sewage and fuel have seeped into the rising river waters at several locations.

Bishop Richard J. Malone of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland said the church was saddened by the losses suffered in northern Maine. He asked Catholics throughout the rest of the state to pray for and “support our northern brothers and sisters as they struggle to rebuild their homes and lives.”

Malone said a special collection would be taken this weekend at parishes outside the flood areas to help provide relief to those displaced by the flooding.

Despite the record high waters, Fort Kent’s levee held and the International Bridge withstood the flood. A failure of the dike would have sent even more water pouring into the downtown.

On Thursday night, officials with the Army Corps of Engineers left town officials with good news after inspecting the earthen and rock dike that protected the downtown business district from the raging St. John River.

Residents and businesses in the protected area nevertheless had been evacuated Wednesday for safety’s sake.

Fort Kent Town Manager Don Guimond said Thursday night the engineers had found the dike “in pretty good shape” and that residents and businesses of West Main Street would be allowed to return to the area at 7 this morning.

Officials were still waiting for Maine Department of Transportation engineers to inspect the International Bridge to determine whether it would be reopened.

The spring flooding realized the worst fears of emergency management officials after a winter in which some parts of northern Maine saw more than 200 inches of snow. Despite the melting snow, it seemed that the region had dodged heavy floods until 3 to 4 inches of rain fell Tuesday.

That deluge, combined with melting snow, sent rivers and streams rising across northern Maine.

Elsewhere, flood warnings were issued for portions of the Penobscot, Kennebec, Aroostook, St. Francis and Mattawamkeag rivers. Small numbers of evacuations were reported in Van Buren, Wallagrass, Milford and Masardis.

More than 100 state roads and dozens of local roads were shut down or had lanes closed because of flooded waterways or heavy rains that fell this week, said Lynette Miller, a spokeswoman for the Maine Emergency Management Agency. Four bridges – two in Fort Kent and one apiece in Van Buren and Moro Plantation – also were closed.

Gov. John Baldacci, who declared a state of emergency Tuesday night and flew from Augusta to get a firsthand look at the floodwaters on Wednesday, requested aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The National Guard was activated to provide assistance, as well.

On Thursday after speaking with Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, Baldacci said the federal response had been good.

“Secretary Chertoff wanted to make sure that we are receiving the assistance we need. We have,” Baldacci said in a statement.

Baldacci also said he spoke with New Brunswick Premier Shawn Graham and that the state and province “are both committed” to reopening the International Bridge “if it can be deemed safe.”

The Maine Emergency Management Authority was preparing damage assessments with an eye toward making a request for a federal disaster declaration, Miller said.

Emergency management officials praised local authorities Thursday for acting quickly with mandatory evacuations that were credited with protecting residents.

In the end, no one was hurt.

West of Fort Kent, up to 6 feet of water still covered Route 161 about five miles from town on Thursday. That 1-mile section of closed road prevented residents of St. John Plantation, St. Francis and Allagash from reaching Fort Kent for supplies and services.

The Maine Forest Service used a couple of its helicopters to fly food and medicine into the isolated communities.

George Dubois, a volunteer firefighter from St. Francis, was shuttled to Fort Kent by one forest service helicopter Thursday morning to get prescriptions for his son and several other residents.

Jeff Currie of the forest service said Thursday that he took one woman who needed dialysis.

The forest service also was doing reconnaissance flights of the flooded area.

Brenda Moody of the Caribou-based Red Cross was in charge of the UMFK shelter Thursday, where she had expected a hundred or more residents to seek a place to stay. She said the shelter had been helping people with everyday needs, but that only six people had needed a place to sleep Wednesday night.

“People here have been very kind to those who needed to be evacuated,” Moody said. “People are concerned about their neighbors and family members.

“People are safe,” she said. “Although we may not know where they are staying, they are with people who care.”

Schools in the St. John Valley were still closed Thursday and were expected to remain so on Friday with so many roads and bridges impassable.

Classes were canceled at the University of Maine at Fort Kent through the weekend.

Hundreds of acres of low-lying woodlands and agricultural land have been underwater for several days.

Tom Desjardins, a historian with the Department of Conservation Bureau of Parks and Lands was at Fort Kent on Thursday to check the condition of the Fort Kent Blockhouse. The site, located near the confluence of the Fish and St. John rivers, is a National Historic Landmark and dates back to the Aroostook War of the early 1800s.

Desjardins said he found no visible damage to the Blockhouse except for the humidity. He said the cellar of the building was full of water, but he believed that would be pumped out soon.

At Quigley’s Building Supply, the waters filled the lumber yard in less than half an hour, sending lumber downriver and putting the yard under 12 feet of water.

Manager Justin Dubois was philosophical about the losses. “It’s frustrating, but at least everyone’s OK. Everything is replaceable,” he said.

Diane Pinette said her son had to leave his home in downtown Fort Kent and her husband had to spend the night of his birthday in Madawaska because flooded roads prevented him from getting home from work.

The flooding added insult to injury after a harsh winter, Pinette said. Just five weeks ago, she had snow up to the top of her first-floor window. Now the snow is melted, but downtown is flooded. “It has been a long winter,” she said. “It has just been one thing after another. People are tired.”

Some were pleasantly surprised that the flooding wasn’t worse.

Bob Michaud, who was given 30 minutes to evacuate Gene’s Electronics the day before, returned Thursday to find that there was no water in the business.

“I was thinking from what I saw on TV that there would be a foot of water on the floor,” said Michaud, who had scrambled to move his goods to the second floor.

Bob Bonenfant, president of Roger’s Sports Center on Main Street, said the dike was doing its job.

“We are dry so we can count our blessings,” he said.

Associated Press writer David Sharp contributed to this report.

How to help

To help victims of the flooding in northern Maine, send money, the Pine Tree Chapter of the American Red Cross said Thursday.

The organization requested that people not donate water, food or clothing.

Tax-deductible donations may be mailed to: 111 High St., Suite 2, Caribou 04736; or 33 Mildred Ave., Bangor 04401.

To donate by credit card, call 493-4620 in Caribou or 941-2903 in Bangor.

To donate online, visit www.pinetree.redcross.org.