By Molly Lovell
Editor
     The Patriot’s Day nor’easter crippled cities and towns up and down the east coast on Monday, causing thousands of homes to lose power and treacherous driving conditions across Maine, including Scarborough.
     Fire Chief Michael Thurlow said at the peak of the storm as many as 45 roads or portions of roads were closed because of downed trees or wires as well as flooding. He said those roads along the Nonesuch River posed the most danger because of flooding.
     A section of Rte. One near the Scarborough Marsh had to be shut down in excess of eight hours Monday afternoon through the evening hours. “We haven’t lost Rte. One in 10 years,” Thurlow said of the closure.
     He called the storm “extraordinary,” and said he hadn’t seen anything comparable since Hurricane Bob in the 1990s. A number of well-traveled roads were still closed as of Tuesday morning, including portions of Beech Ridge Road, Holmes Road and Payne Road.
     Thurlow said failed culverts on Payne Road have caused some of the structure of the road to collapse. “That’s going to be a big fix,” he said. Repairs are also going to have to be made to Pine Point Road, he said.
     Evacuations in the area were on a voluntary basis and a Red Cross Shelter was set up at Scarborough High School. Thurlow said a half of a dozen people used the shelter while four spent Monday night there.
     He said Scarborough’s public safety crews spent a lot of time blocking dangerous roadways and coordinating with Central Maine Power. A crew did rescue one elderly woman who couldn’t leave her home because of downed power lines and holes in the ground.
     Thurlow also said crews spent time going after people who passed barricaded roads without permission. “That was our biggest problem,” he said, and added, “They didn’t head the warnings, making a hard job that much harder.”
     Thurlow wanted to commend the various departments in town for all cooperating and looking after the citizens of Scarborough. “Everyone pulled together in this community like few others can,” he said.
     Employees at the Clambake Restaurant also pulled together and were proactive in how they dealt with the storm. At one point on Monday morning the parking lot of the restaurant was severely flooded and General Manager Don Roth said they were lucky, however, and the damage inside wasn’t too bad. He said people spent Sunday and Monday putting out sandbags and moving furniture to the high side of the restaurant, which proved to be helpful.
     “We hope we don’t’ have another one of these storms, but we were prepared for it and it pretty much saved us,” he said. Roth said the parking lot is littered with grass and seaweed, but that business will resume on Friday.
     The Scarborough Marsh Audubon Center wasn’t as lucky. Ten-inches of water accumulated inside the center, damaging walls and insulation.
     Center Director for the Scarborough Marsh Linda Woodard said the tile floor might be salvageable, but that there is a lot of mud on the floor. She also said a refrigerator will have to be replaced. “We were really concerned the building was going to go,” she said.
     Woodard and others pulled together to perform a “canoe rescue,” Monday night, starting at 6:30 p.m. A team managed to get the center’s six canoes and two kayaks to dry land.
     This Saturday, April 21, The Friends of the Scarborough Marsh is planning a cleanup day for the marsh along with various Scarborough beaches. Woodard said she’s going to not only need manpower on Saturday, but various pieces of equipment to help with the cleanup of the storm’s aftermath.
     “What I really need are tools, if some come with pitchforks or rakes, I could really use them,” she said.
     A chunk of the center’s parking lot is gone, she said, so gravel, along with shovels and wheelbarrows are needed. Woodard also encouraged people to come with rubber boots. Anyone wishing to loan equipment to the effort can call Woodard at 781-2330.
     She also encouraged people to regularly visit the Web site Maineaudubon.org, to remain updated on the progress of the Scarborough Marsh and what needs to be done in terms of restoration after the storm.