FARMINGTON, Maine — The town of Farmington experienced devastating flooding in some neighborhoods during the Dec. 18 storm that killed four Mainers.
On Friday, muddy water lines remained visible six feet from the ground on structures and road signs on the stretch of Main Street that winds parallel to the Sandy River.
Many homes and businesses were spared by the storm, but some near the river would remain closed for the time being.
Pharmacy employees at the Walgreens in town were preparing to fill vital prescriptions again. The company brought in a mobile trailer and, the store's manager told us Friday, once they could get their systems up and running in the temporary structure, they’d be able to fill 1,000 prescriptions per day if need be; though they said the pharmacy typically filled 1,000 in a full week.
Despite the severity of flooding in that part of Farmington, and while noting it remained devastating for the employees and owners there, Town Manager Erica LaCroix said it could have been worse.
"There’s a lot of towns along the Androscoggin, the Carrabassett, the Kennebec [rivers] that experienced much more damage to their businesses and homes right along the rivers, that had total washouts of their roads, that had loss of life," LaCroix said during a Friday interview in her office. "We didn’t have any of that; we’re very fortunate."
The town office shares a wall with the fire department. LaCroix, who held her position for one full week before the storm, said she felt confident because the town's emergency personnel remained calm throughout. But there were potentially dangerous moments.
To maintain a presence across as much territory as possible, Fire Chief Tim Hardy explained how he decided to stage a crew at the town's Mt. Blue High School moments before the final open road to that part of town became flooded.
"We were an island for probably seven, eight hours," Hardy said.
He added that his firefighters had to swim into a home to rescue a resident who called 911 after ignoring an evacuation advisory.
Back downtown, Mary Ellis considered herself lucky. About 2,000 feet from the worst of the damage, her pizzeria became waterfront property for that day. She said she fed the out-of-state linemen who came to help and hurt for her neighbors who couldn’t stay dry.
"Everybody’s gonna need help because the water reached places that it’s never reached before," Ellis said sternly. "This was catastrophic for a lot of folks."
All told, LaCroix estimated, the town would likely need around $500,000 worth of repairs; most of which would shore up the wastewater treatment facility.