Staff Writer
Thursday may have marked the beginning of spring, but Old Man Winter had other plans, as a blizzard settled into the area late that evening and continued to cause chaos throughout Friday and Friday evening.
Staff photo/Kathy McCarty
SNOW REMOVAL was the order of the day for staff from the Presque Isle Fire and Police departments on Thursday, March 20, as they used snowblowers, shovels and scoops to clear over four feet of snow from the roof of the Public Safety Building on North St. Crews spent about nine hours completing the task, finishing with little time to spare before the next storm dumped yet more of the white stuff in Presque Isle.
Since 1955, Caribou’s record for snowfall in one season had stood at 181.1 inches. By Saturday, March 22, the National Weather Service reported the record had been broken, with snow measuring in at 182.5 inches. Officials indicated that it’s possible this season could reach the 200-inch mark, if snowfall continues at a normal rate. It’s not unusual to have snow well into April, leaving this a year for the record books.
Prior to Friday’s storm, individuals and businesses could be seen addressing the need to remove snow from area rooftops. Presque Isle city officials took the opportunity Thursday to prepare for the pending storm by cleaning the roof of the Public Safety Building on North St.
“In our building, the way it’s constructed, ceiling tiles are actually attached to the roof. We began to see areas where the ceiling tiles were being pulled up by the sprinkler system – knew there was deflection,” said Chief Naldo Gagnon, of the Presque Isle Police Department.
It was at that point Gagnon got together with Fire Chief Darrell White to determine how best to clear the snow from the roof.
“The lowest amount up there was 3 feet, but consistently it was more like 4-5 feet. The snow drifts off the apparatus bay, over the living quarters at the fire department, then over our department,” said Gagnon, noting one drifted section measured about 8 feet high and extended 12 feet.
A total of seven snowblowers were hoisted onto the roof and used to clear the tons of snow that had accumulated over the winter. No chains were used, preventing damage to the rubber roof.
“The fire department used the ladder truck to hoist the machines up their. Darrell got them secured and up they went,” said Gagnon. “We used machines from the Rec Department, Tom Stevens, Tony Robichaud and Rich Wark – had seven total. We worked them hard throughout the day.”
Gagnon said the work was done entirely by city staff and members of the volunteer fire department.
“The snow removal affected overtime. It’s not within staff’s official capacity, but the guys volunteered,” said the chief. “The crew included me, Tom Stevens, Darrell, as well as several members of both the police and fire departments. In addition to snowblowers, staff used shovels and scoops to clear the snow.”
In the long run, Gagnon said doing the work themselves actually saved the city money, since hiring an outside crew most likely would have cost a great deal more than the overtime involved.
“Those guys worked hard – there was a lot of snow to remove,” said Gagnon. “This was the first time in seven years – since the building was completed – that we’ve had to do that (clear the roof of snow). Hopefully we won’t have to do it again.”
Some of the snow was scooped off the roof in front, creating a mound nearly as tall as the roof itself. Gagnon said the pile served as a unique exit route once work was completed.
“The ladder truck was tied up lowering snowblowers, so about seven of us jumped into the snow we’d shoveled off. It was only about a four-foot drop, so it wasn’t that far,” said Gagnon.
All in all, Gagnon was pleased with the project and happy no one was injured.
“It was a lot of work but the guys had a good time – a lot of joking and laughing while they worked,” said Gagnon. “I’m just relieved we got it done – and just in time for the next storm.”
That next storm didn’t bring a great deal of snow with it. The problem Friday was the high winds that caused near white-out conditions on many area roadways, keeping Gagnon and his crew, as well as other local, county and state law enforcement busy responding to accidents.
In Presque Isle, police responded to approximately a dozen mishaps, with the majority occurring on the Caribou Rd. Open fields with little to block the wind created ideal conditions for white-outs. Unable to see, drivers found themselves on occasion in a snowbank instead of the road. No serious injuries resulted from storm-related accidents and property damage was considered minor in most instances.
The Maine State Police put in their fair share of miles, covering over two dozen accidents all over Aroostook County.
“We’re still playing catch-up. We covered at least 30 different car crashes on Friday during the day,” said Sgt. David McPherson, of the MSP.
McPherson said some involved personal injuries but none were considered life-threatening. Two of the worst crashes occurred in Bridgewater and Mapleton – each involving multiple cars.
“Trooper Nick Bailey covered a multiple crash in Bridgewater in the morning and Trooper Fred Thomas covered numerous crashes in Mapleton,” said McPherson, adding he didn’t have all the specifics available on all the incidents at presstime.
McPherson said emergency personnel did a great job during the storm.
“The DOT and troopers did an outstanding job just keeping up with the complaints – other civil servants like fire departments and ambulance crews were also great assets in the time of need,” said McPherson.
The Aroostook County Sheriff’s Department staff were also kept busy throughout the day and evening, responding to calls around the county.
Plow drivers could be heard on the scanner Friday evening, talking about which road to tackle next and how best to keep roads open. Parched from long hours of clearing snow, drivers made pit stops to pick up a soda or coffee, before heading back out to continue the battle against the drifting snow.
One driver, noting he had been doing snow removal for about 25 years, commented, “I have never seen it this bad before.”
Road crews continued with snow removal well into the weekend. A section of Route 11 was shut down for about a four-hour period on Saturday so that crews could clear snow that had drifted along a portion of the heavily traveled road between Ashland and points south.
Although spring is here, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration continues to keep watch on storm systems as they approach our area, with more snow expected before temperatures rise enough to bring rain. For more weather information, visit www.noaa.gov.
Photo courtesy of Laurie Amero
IT’S NOT MT. EVEREST, but this ‘snowbank’ sure makes shoveling hard work and quite a climb for one local maintenance man. Snow removal has become a major chore this winter, as inches turned into feet with each added storm – by now creating ‘mountains’ in some places, like this one in Presque Isle. This picture was taken between the Administration Building and family apartments on Birch Street at Presque Isle Housing Authority. The person in the picture is Housing Authority maintenance man Dan Powers. Photographer Laurie Amero thought it was interesting considering how hard everyone has worked this winter plowing and shoveling all the snow and the fact that snowfall is at record levels this year.
Staff photo/Kathy McCarty
OFFICERS, FIREFIGHTERS and even chiefs did their share of snow removal on the roof of the Public Safety Building on North St. on March 20. Using snowblowers, scoops and shovels, staff volunteered to work the snow removal detail to prevent the roof from collapsing under the estimated four feet of the white stuff. Here, Sgt. Joey Seeley, of the PIPD, pushes a scoop to the edge of the roof to be dumped.
