The Androscoggin River may be finally dropping after cresting well above flood stage in Lewiston, but city officials said an evacuation order for eight different streets along the river remains in effect until the dozens of homes there can be deemed safe from flood waters.
“The water is receding now, and we’re assessing that,” said Fire Chief Mark Caron.
Like much of the state, Lewiston is still reeling from the effects of a ferocious storm that rocked Maine on Monday, with several inches of heavy rain and high winds that knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of people.
Snow melt and water drainage higher upstream prompted Lewiston city officials to declare the evacuation order Tuesday afternoon for the following areas:
Switzerland Road at St. Peter’s Cemetery, 217 Switzerland Road to Gulf Island Avenue
Tall Pines Drive from North Woods to Strawberry Avenue
Oxford Street at Cedar Street
River Street at Oxford Street, Nel Court
Lincoln Drive
Lincoln Terrace
River Road at Ferry Road will have limited access
Lincoln Street from Cedar Street to South Avenue
Caron estimated there were at least 50-100 homes, with at least 150 residents. Police officers, firefighters and code enforcement employees went door to door Tuesday on the affected streets to spread the word that the flooding river meant it wasn’t safe to stay. Caron said no one was forced to evacuate, but “we strongly encouraged them to do it.”
“It wasn’t just houses that would be flooded,” he said. “It was the roads leading to the houses that would be flooded.”
According to the National Weather Service, the Androscoggin River crested in the Lewiston/Auburn area at 20.27 feet at 6:30 a.m. Wednesday.
By 1 p.m., the river had dropped to 17.1 feet, but still remained on the border between “moderate” and “minor” flood stage.
On Wednesday morning, the river surged over the falls near Veterans Memorial Park. The park itself was partially submerged, with waves of water flowing around the memorials there.
Nearby, a portable digital sign warned passing motorists in bright yellow letters: “Do not drive through flooded roads.”
Caron said it’s always good advice to avoid flooded roadways, especially if the road is not visible beneath the water.
One driver learned that lesson the hard way around 9:30 p.m. Wednesay, Caron said. The driver got stuck in a small SUV in a flooded part of River Street as the river was still rising. Luckily, the four people in the vehicle did not need to be rescued, Caron said, but it could have been much worse.
“If the car had gotten into the swift water, it would have been gone,” he said.
Caron said he has been with the department for 28 years and hasn’t seen flooding this bad in the city since 1987. He said the river’s cresting means it is likely the evacuated roads will open soon, but he could not say exactly when.
City officials set up a temporary shelter for evacuated residents at the Ramada Inn on Pleasant Street, according to City Spokesperson Angelynne Amores. She said as of Wednesday night there were about 75 people staying there.
“I think a significant number of the people there will be going home today,” she said.
With the flood waters receding, Caron said, the other major concern will be carbon monoxide produced by portable electric generators. The storm knocked out power to thousands statewide, with crews working for days to restore power.
As of 2:30 p.m., Central Maine Power reported nearly 186,000 customers were still in the dark, including 6,091 in Lewiston. Caron said that means people throughout the city will be using portable generators.
Officials always advise anyone using a generator to keep it outside in a well-ventilated area, to prevent the deadly gas from becoming a hazard.
“You can’t see it. You can’t smell it,” he said.
Despite the warnings, Caron said the department always sees a spike in calls of carbon monoxide poisoning during outages, and this week has been no exception.
So far, he said, no one has been overcome or badly hurt, but he urged residents to be careful when using portable generators, and also to make sure they have a working carbon monoxide detector in their homes.
“I would recommend it to anyone, generator or not,” he said.