Remembering the Ice Storm of '98

Remembering the Ice Storm of '98
By George Chappell
Staff Writer Bangor Daily News

John Dority, chief engineer for the Maine Department of Transportation, likes to remember a defining moment that happened one night soon after the now historic ice storm struck Maine beginning on Jan. 6, 1998.

"We had already been out for six to eight hours before the storm came," he said. "Later on, we were in the Maine Emergency Management Agency room in Augusta with Gov. Angus King, and he looked at us and said, ‘The people in Maine are freezing to death.’

"He had already declared a state of emergency," Dority said. "That was all he had to say, and we knew what we had to do."

Tales of how emergency management personnel, utility company workers, radio announcers and ordinary neighbors responded after three days of freezing precipitation sent trees, power lines and poles crashing to the ground in glassy explosions are now the stuff of legend. More than 300,000 households, about half the state’s population, were left in the dark and cold, many for days on end. Six deaths were attributed to the storm, according to state figures.

Ten years later, those experiences have been seared into the state’s collective memory, and many lessons have been learned if there is ever a similar weather event, say officials.

Dority and others interviewed for this story clearly recall the details of the disaster. Dority said DOT crews went into areas ravaged by fallen trees ahead of the Bangor Hydro-Electric Co. and Central Maine Power Co. teams to clear the debris.

http://bangornews.com/news/t/news.aspx?articleid=158550&zoneid=500

Slide show: http://bangornews.com/slideshows/gallery/Ice_Storm_98/index.html

10 YEARS AGO
Storm left icy imprint
By Morning Sentinel staff

First of a three-part series


Wires sparked on frozen roads. Trees and branches snapped under the stress, causing an unforgettable sound like a rifle shot. Transformers exploded in flashes of light and everywhere homes went cold and dark. William Page remembers the calls started almost immediately the morning of Jan. 8, 1998.

Power lines were down, trees blocked roads and people were stranded in cold homes. Within hours, the Winslow Fire Department was overwhelmed, and there was no place to go for help. Without a generator, even the fire station was without power.

"We couldn't ask for anybody else to come help us. The whole state of Maine had the same problem we did," said Page, who was then chief of Winslow's fire department and is now chief of both Winslow and Waterville.

The ice storm of 1998 crept into the state almost without notice 10 years ago when a huge wedge of warm, wet air settled over a dense layer of colder air, causing precipitation to fall as freezing rain over a swath of territory reaching from New York to Quebec.

As ice accumulated on trees, power lines and roads hundreds of thousands of people were affected. Roughly three-quarters of Maine households lost power at some time during the storm.

It was a disaster in two parts, with the first slug of moisture hitting much of the state from Jan. 7 through 9 and another icing the coastline between Jan. 23 and 25.

http://morningsentinel.mainetoday.com/news/local/4598986.html




Staff file photo

Ice storm memories
E-mails from readers about their experiences 10 years ago.
From the Portland Press Herald

BUXTON

I have a few ice storm stories. First, let me tell you a couple of things. I live in Buxton and I was without power for 11 days.

I recall the first morning with all the ice falling off the trees, glittering in the sun. It was so pretty. I had no idea what was in store. The first thing I did was go buy a generator. Unfortunately, I paid too much (not that unusual under the circumstances) and bought a generator that was way too small to run much beyond a couple of lights. Well, it would run the kerosene heater so I would have the generator running outside to power the heater inside. Talk about leaving a carbon footprint.

My wife and kids went to stay with her mom in Westbrook who never lost power. I stayed at the house to keep a fire going so the pipes didn't freeze. At first, it wasn't so bad. Sort of like camping, only indoors. Then a couple of days turned into 4 days. Then 5 days. Everyone almost everywhere had power. I started making up excuses to visit people so that I could take a shower. "Hey, I'm going to return that screwdriver I borrowed from you. Mind if I take a shower?"

It is interesting the things you figure out. I had a freezer full of food and the freezer was in my breezeway. So I would open the door to the freezer and leave it open all night and then close it during the day and that prevented the food from thawing. I learned that water is never an issue in the winter as the house was surrounded by water in the form of snow. Just grab a bucket full, toss it on the gas or wood stove and there's water for flushing the toilet. Didn't work so hot for cooking but I found that I could substitute beer in almost anything but coffee. Beef stew, chili, I came up with a few. And grilling outdoors in the winter is now perfectly normal.

One thing that made my plight unique was that at that point in time, I was a self employed computer consultant. Once a month or so, I'd fly somewhere and do a job. The rest of my time, I stayed home and worked from there. So while most people could go to work, get warm, commiserate with their colleagues and have some sense of normalcy, I had no where to go. With no power, I could not work. All I could do is sit around, keep the fire going and drink beer. After we got to a week, I was kind of discouraged.

More Stories: http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=159723&ac=PHnws

Preparation concerns remain
Towns cite better disaster plans, but some still lacking generators
By MEGHAN V. MALLOY
Staff Writer Morning Sentinel

AUGUSTA -- Overall, Kennebec County is better prepared today to deal with a natural disaster than it was a decade ago when the great ice storm crippled the state, officials say.

But a handful of communities lack an ingredient crucial to emergency planning -- a generator.

The Jan. 8, 1998, storm covered the state in ice. Schools and businesses were shut down, residents went without electricity and heat for up to three weeks, and at least two people died of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Much has changed since then, said Kelly Amoroso, director of the county's Emergency Management Agency.

Officials have been diligent over the past several months bringing municipal emergency plans and shelters up to date and into compliance with American Red Cross standards.

"I think the big question is whether or not we are more prepared than we were in 1998," Amoroso said. "I can say that we definitely are."

Daniel Vachon, of Farmingdale, has been hired by the county on a temporary basis to work with the Red Cross and Kennebec County towns to evaluate and update emergency shelters -- both for daily and overnight stays.

Of the 29 incorporated communities in Kennebec County, only nine are listed by the county as having a back-up generator at an approved Red Cross shelter. Amoroso said not all of the nine shelters are equipped for overnight guests, and some of the generators are not made to power an entire facility if the lights and heat go out.

http://morningsentinel.mainetoday.com/news/local/4616528.html

Ice storm evokes sharp sounds, kind acts
By BETTY ADAMS
Staff Writer Morning Sentinel

Last in a three-part series

It's the sounds they remember most. And the generosity of neighbors and strangers.

Ten years after a devastating winter storm coated the region in a glistening sheet of ice, Mainers say they can still hear the constant and unsettling snapping of tree limbs, the pop of exploding transformers, the revving of chainsaws, the whir of generators.

They also warmly recall the many kindnesses that made life tolerable during the days and weeks they were without electricity, cable, phones and running water.

"A co-worker in Waterville who got her electricity back sooner than we did invited us over for showers," said Elaine Belcher, who lived in an apartment in Winslow. "What a pleasure that was. While we were there, she was a gracious hostess and offered us tea, coffee or hot chocolate. I asked for ice water and she laughed hysterically because she thought that was such a strange request. She probably still laughs about it."

The Ice Storm of '98 remains prominent in the memories of many Mainers.

It started on Jan. 7, 1998.

In its wake, it left more than 600,000 people without power.

http://morningsentinel.mainetoday.com/news/local/4633905.html


Morning Sentinel staff photo