Harpswell was ravaged by more than its share of storms during the winter of 2023-24, from devastating high tides and storm winds in the fall, to ice and wind storms in the winter and spring. During and after each event, Harpswell’s three volunteer fire departments have been at the various areas of destruction, cleaning up, monitoring for fire hazards, and clearing roads for emergency vehicles.
The March 23 ice storm was a noteworthy case in point. It hit the Midcoast in unexpected fashion. Warmer temperatures and lower winds were predicted, and Harpswell and other communities did not anticipate the freezing rain and sleet that formed ice, dragging down trees and power lines.
Typically, the Maine Department of Transportation is responsible for clearing state roads and highways. The town of Harpswell contracts for the clearing of local roads and hires an arborist to cut up fallen trees that impede traffic, usually to be done the day after a storm. When these measures are inadequate, the fire departments step in.
On March 23, everyone was caught by surprise as the storm came in and the power went out.
The Orr’s and Bailey Islands Fire Department, the largest of Harpswell’s three departments, was short on responders because a number of volunteers were out of town. Nevertheless, about five volunteers from OBIFD and at least two to three volunteers from each of the other two departments, Harpswell Neck and Cundy’s Harbor, were out all night cutting up ice-laden trees and branches in order to keep at least one lane clear for fire trucks and ambulances.
Because of power-related problems with local and regional emergency communications systems, responders placed themselves in danger by traveling the roads in the pitch black with little to no ability to communicate by radio. They risked either snagging live wires or being hit by falling trees. It was reported that trees were crashing down right and left faster than they could be cut up and cleared. In the dark, only deafening thuds could be heard, often with no indication of where or how close the trees were.
Harpswell’s firefighters are well trained and well versed in handling dangerous situations. Nevertheless, Ben Wallace Jr., fire chief of both Cundy’s Harbor and OBIFD, said, “Saturday night (March 23) was one of the most dangerous events the department has had.”
