Looking down into the flooded basement storage area.
On August 26, 2018, the “Old Farmer’s Almanac” predicted “arctic air, blustery, bitter winds, sharp drops in temperatures, and widespread snow showers and squalls” for winter 2018-19. “Above-normal snowfall is predicted for the Great Lakes states, Midwest, and central and northern New England.” Northern Maine is doing its part to validate the “Old Farmer’s Almanac’”s predictions this winter.
The National Weather Service in Caribou, @NWSCaribou, tweeted on Feb. 26 that the total snowfall in Caribou was 147 inches. That is 67 inches above the average snowfall. Winter 2007-08 holds the record with 197.8 inches of snowfall.
Snowfall shouldn’t be confused with the amount of snow on the ground. The NWS calls this “observed snow depths.” The NWS reported in its Winter/Spring Flood Potential Outlook that snow depths were above normal on Feb. 21. Snow depths across northern and northwest Maine range from 35-45 inches. The Flood Potential Outlook also reported that the “snow water equivalent,” the “soil moisture” and the “groundwater levels” are above normal. This information is used to predict the likelihood and severity of flooding.
This past December, the ice on many rivers in northern Maine let go and created ice jams that are still locked in place. One ice jam on the Aroostook River is approximately 7 miles long. It stretches from Washburn to Crouseville. Another ice jam on Wallagrass Stream has closed part of ITS 73A. Snowmobilers must reroute onto Aroostook Road (Route 11) in Wallagrass. The NWS warns that the flood potential for both open water and ice jam flooding is above normal for the region.
Spring floods are the talk of the town in Fort Kent. Sue Tardie, an administrative specialist at the University of Maine at Fort Kent, said, “It was the first thing discussed at last night’s Rotary meeting.” Tardie tells about how the university learned from the 2008 flood. Before the flood, the basement of Fox Auditorium and Cyr Hall was used as storage. Now items stored there can withstand water. Items that can’t get wet are stored on higher ground.
During the flood, the basements filled with water. Facility employees and volunteers worked to salvage as much as they could. According to Scott Voisine, Tamara Mitchell performed triage during the removal. She was able to identify items, boxes and files that were of utmost importance and have those removed first.
“It makes people think more preventative now.” Tardie said, “It’s not something someone forgets.”
Voisine is currently the dean of community education. In the spring of 2008, he was the director of student affairs. He vividly remembers the middle-of-the-night phone call asking him to report to the campus. The university’s president and vice-presidents were unavailable, so Voisine was incident commander for the first 20 hours of the emergency. On April 30, the Fish River crested at 13.93 feet and the St. John River crested at 30.14 feet. Local authorities asked Voisine to evacuate the dorms. The students were not in danger from the flood. The dorms were creating a burden on the sewer system. Voisine called in the residential life staff. Together they made a plan to alert the students and evacuate the dorms.
Voisine called Christine Corsello and William Engler, his counterparts at the University of Maine at Presque Isle and Northern Maine Community College. Voisine didn’t know how many students would need housing or for how long. With emotion creeping into his voice, Voisine said, “They told me ‘get them here and we will handle it. We will be ready.’ And they were.” The student activities directors from both campuses worked together to provide things for the students to do. Students received movie tickets and rides to the mall. Presque Isle cared for Fort Kent’s students for five days.
Brian Shaefer is the new director of facility management at UMFK. He takes the threat of flooding seriously. Shaefer met with the Fort Kent Ice Out Planning Committee on Feb. 14. Shaefer said, “There were at least 30 members from all across the spectrum.” Law enforcement, fire department, waste disposal, state forestry, warden service, EMS, NOAA, city officials and UMFK staff work together to prepare the St. John Valley for flood season. Shaefer and the facilities staff at UMFK are reminding employees to remove items from low-lying storage until the flood season is over. They also inspect those areas multiple times a day during the flood season. Since the 2008 flood, a new pumping system was installed. It allows for “at least 50 percent more pumping capability than was ever needed in the past.”
One of the most memorable things about the “May Day Flood” is the way the community came together. Townsfolk with heavy equipment built a berm to divert water from Route 1. A local man who owned a gravel pit donated the materials for the berm. SAD 27 provided buses to transport the students to Presque Isle. UMFK provided food and a place to rest to first responders and volunteers. The local grocery stores donated bottled water. When the flood waters separated St. Francis and Allagash from Fort Kent, a helicopter flew in food, medicine and supplies. Local volunteers used their own vehicles to distribute the supplies to those in need.
The “Old Farmer’s Almanac” predicts, “The snowiest periods will be in early January, early to mid-February, mid-March and early April. April and May will be rainier than normal.” Fort Kent and the St. John Valley, as well as the campuses of northern Aroostook County, may have a chance to come together again this spring.
