Residents tired as more rain means more damage for one Maine town

By Jim Keithley

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    DIXFIELD, Maine (WMTW) — Rollins Ridge Road in the town of East Dixfield is a crumbled mess Tuesday, after several inches of rain fell within a two-hour period Monday night.

A large culvert was left exposed.

Arlie Hetrick, who lives on Severy Hill Road said severe wind gusts knocked down a giant tree, blocking the end of his driveway.

“It was blowing. I thought I was going to lose my big Maple tree,” Hetrick said. “This fell, and I’m glad I wasn’t mowing.”

Looking at the positive, Hetrick said Mother Nature has provided him with free firewood. Until the tree could be cut into pieces with his chainsaw, he couldn’t get out of his driveway.

Hetrick said at the height of the storm, water was rushing down the road like a raging river.

“It rutted the hillside — both sides all the way down to the tarp they laid down in the gravel and washed that guy’s bridge out too,” Hetrick said.

Over the last two months, this area has seen plenty of water. Images captured dramatic scenes of rushing water and vehicles stuck in the ditch.

Jack Manthe said he is getting tired of the damage caused by flash flooding. This is the third time he’s had to deal with what was left behind.

“Last night, the thunderstorms just circled right around here, and it washed out a culvert down the bottom,” Manthe said.

Dixfield’s public works crews were on the go repairing the roads with enough fill, so they were at least passable. But one of the workers said it was like putting a Band-Aid on a serious wound.

The town has already applied for federal disaster aid to help pay for the permanent repairs, instead of temporary fixes. Officials said a flash flood back in May caused more than $1 million in damage.

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