HOULTON, Maine — Tara Lewis of Houlton thought that she had enough pellets to last her through the winter.
She customarily purchases one-and-a-half tons of pellets each winter and combines it with heating oil to keep her two bedroom house warm.
“There have been times when I have had to buy a little more pellets,” she said Friday. “But not often. I usually have more than enough. Often, I have pellets left over.”
This year, however, has been out of the ordinary.
So far, Caribou has received 143.6 inches of snow since last October, which is 84.5 inches higher than the normal amount of 59.1 inches over the same period. The most snowfall the region has ever received is 197.6 inches, which fell during the winter of 2007-2008. In addition, the meteorological fall, which is the three month period from September through November 2018, finished with below average temperatures but well above average snowfall across southern and eastern Maine, according to the National Weather Service in Caribou.
The weather, in addition to devastating fires suffered by two pellet mills in northern and central Maine, have contributed to the pellet shortage, according to both retailers and consumers.
Scott Amero, manager at Walmart in Houlton, said Friday that the store has been struggling with supplying enough pellets to meet consumer demand.
“My understanding is that the fires at the Ashland mill and the Corinth mill are a big reason for the lack of pellets,” he said. “We have had to ration them.”
Northeast Pellets, which is located in Ashland’s industrial park, suffered a devastating fire for the second time in its 11-year history in August 2017. In September 2018, a massive fire destroyed Corinth Wood Pellets Manufacturing. Both are currently working to rebuild.
Amero said that when he gets a load in, customers are only allowed to take one ton of pellets per person.
“That hasn’t impacted sales at all,” he said. “I have pellets right now but they will likely be gone by the end of the day. That is what we have been experiencing.”
Todd Pelletier, manager at S.W. Collins Co. in Caribou, said that his store is experiencing the same situation.
“We are also lacking an ample supply,” he said Friday. “We just got in a ton of pellets today and we are all sold out.”
He said that the situation is the same at most of their other stores in Presque Isle, Fort Kent, Lincoln and Houlton.
“We are all getting them from the same supplier,” he said. “We carry the Canawick brand and Northeast Pellets.”
Boyce Holman at The County Stove Shop in Caribou, however, said his store has “had pellets all winter.”
“We have pellets right now and are getting another shipment in here soon,” he said Friday.
Travis Monson of Presque Isle said he ran out of pellets three days ago. Monson said he has had to rely primarily on his oil furnace and has had to borrow pellets from his parents to use in his stove.
“Luckily, I was able to get some pellets from S.W. Collins Co. this morning,” he said Friday “Hopefully, that will get me through the next month. Once April comes, I usually just rely on the furnace and call it good.”
