Flooding from Beryl washes out roads, spares communities in Essex County
SARANAC LAKE — Flooding throughout Essex County caused by heavy rainfall from the remnants of Hurricane Beryl on Wednesday led to road closures in multiple districts.
Essex County was issued an updated flood warning by the National Weather Service at 3:59 a.m. Thursday, which was in effect from 4:22 a.m. to 7:01 p.m.
As of press time on Thursday, roads were closed due to flooding damage in six towns, including Elizabethtown, Essex, Jay, Keene, Lewis, Moriah and Westport.
Burlington National Weather Service Forecaster Matthew Clay told the Enterprise Thursday that in terms of flooding, the reports they received from Essex County included a number of road closures but nothing more significant than that in New York state. He said washouts in Vermont were being reported as more severe. The rainfall was generally 2 to 3 inches throughout the Essex County, with the only exception being the area along the Champlain Basin, where they received up to 6 inches of rain, according to Clay.
Phone messages to Essex County Emergency Services were not returned by press time.
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Keene
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In Keene, town Supervisor Joe Pete Wilson Jr. said that steeper roads within the town were hit the hardest, while the rest of the community sustained less, if any, severe damage. There was standing water at Marcy Field, but not enough to close state Route 73.
On those steeper roads, town crews had needed to put road closures into effect with lots of drainage ditches having washed out. The road to the Garden trail system was closed as of press time after being washed out to the point that it was impassable for traffic. Hurricane Road was closed in Keene as of press time.
According to Wilson, the main priority was to get the town’s washed-out access road to Keene’s water storage plant up and running again so they could service the plant, if needed. The road is also used to access the AT&T and Verizon cell towers.
The flooding had not led to any injuries or displaced persons that Wilson knew of, and he hadn’t heard about the fire department having to pump out any basements.
“In the valley, we’re just dealing with sort of a difficult extreme weather flooding we’ve got, but … the damage has really been on our steep town roads where the sudden amount of water causes lots of erosion,” he said.
Martha Allen, an Enterprise correspondent from Keene Valley, said that she met a group of students in grades 8 to 12 from an independent school in Vermont who were staying the night at a primitive campsite near the Boquet River when the flooding came. Allen said they were stranded when the water began rising and it became an emergency situation where they had to scramble to move their camp to higher ground. No one in the group was hurt, and they got out of the woods unscathed. When Allen talked to them after they were safe and dry, the children were more excited than frightened by what they saw as an adventure.
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Jay
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In Jay, town Supervisor Matt Stanley said his district had been fortunate to sustain minimal damage. Other than some dirt roads washing out and needing moderate repairs, he said the town was fine.
“We really lucked out,” Stanley said.
Jay’s highway crew was already out doing pretty much routine maintenance on the washed-out dirt roads, according to Stanley. Grove Road and Hesseltine Road in Jay were both closed as of press time.
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Wilmington
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In Wilmington, the damage was fairly negligible, according to town Supervisor Favor Smith. Like Jay, he said some of Wilmington’s dirt roads had washed out, “but everything else is in good order.”