By Natalie Bazinet
Staff Writer
CARIBOU — While Irene ravaged a large portion of the East Coast, she was pretty tame by the time she reached Aroostook County on Aug. 28.
Van Buren recorded the highest Irene-related wind speed from Aroostook County at 53 miles per hour at approximately 10:46 p.m. on Sunday, according to unofficial observations recorded by the National Weather Service Office in Caribou. Other highest wind speeds were recorded right around the same time; 43 mph in Frenchville, 35 mph in Caribou, 33 mph in Presque Isle, 30 mph in Houlton and Clayton Lake, and 28 mph recorded in Ashland.
Law enforcement officials reported that large tree branches were downed along Route 1A at approximately 8 p.m.
Orient held claim to the most rain within 24 hours of Irene’s impact on The County; as of approximately 9:45 a.m. on Monday, the town had received 3.4 inches of rain. Also recorded on the morning of the 29th, Island Falls had the second highest precipitation amount at 2.71 inches. Caribou and Presque Isle were on the lower end of the rainfall spectrum, receiving 1.10 inches and 1.24 respectively.
Power outages resultant from the storm were restored relatively quickly in the region; the longest outages reported by Maine Public Service affected 811 customers depending on the Flo’s Inn substation in Presque Isle, where power was restored after five hours, 13 minutes. The second longest outage was in Limestone, where 619 customers went three hours, 45 minutes without electricity.
In Sherman, 271 customers went three hours, six minutes without power. The 2,330 Presque Isle Skyway customers were restored power after one hour, 47 minutes, while fellow Presque Islers on State Street went 33 minutes without electricity.
About 210 Westfield customers went without power for one hour, 45 minutes and in Caribou, 527 customers went one hour, 29 minutes without electricity.
The shortest outage was recorded for Mapleton, where 1,466 customers went nine minutes before electricity was restored.
