Nearly two weeks after a fast-moving storm packing hurricane-strength winds toppled dozens of trees, the cleanup continues in York Village.

The area was hit hard by the July 15 microburst, but Town Manager Robert Yandow said the damage is not as extensive as in 2010, when a microburst ripped through town and caused nearly $100,000 in damage.

No one was injured during the storm, but strong winds felled a number of trees and branches. Several cars were destroyed or damaged when trees – including a 200-year-old oak – fell outside of First Parish Congregational Church. Nearby, an ash tree crushed the corner of a two-story house and the blue spruce in front of Town Hall toppled, barely missing a war memorial.

Yandow said private property owners, town crews and hired contractors have been working to clear debris, but the cleanup will shift to a second phase this week. Three tree companies hired by the town will clear remaining debris from the sides of roads and from the front yards of York Village residents.

Town officials don’t yet have damage estimates from the storm, but Yandow said he doesn’t think the cleanup will be as extensive as it was following the 2010 microburst in the same part of town.

“That was a $90,000 to $100,000 total cost. I don’t think this will rise to the same cost as 2010,” he said, adding that the cleanup will be done in a couple of weeks.

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The Board of Selectmen may consider releasing money from the town’s contingency fund to cover the cleanup depending on the total cost, Yandow said.

Dean Lessard, director of public works, said many residents have already dropped off branches and cut-up tree sections at the town’s recycling center, which has had extended hours since the storm. During the 2010 storm, many softwood trees fell, but this time it was hardwoods, he said.

“Some people may be using it for firewood this time,” he said.

Lessard said he is impressed with how quickly residents and hired crews have cleared some areas.

“I think York is a strong community and a resilient one,” he said.

During the storm, winds in York were clocked at 70 to 80 mph. Hurricane-force winds are defined as those 74 mph or greater. The following day, the National Weather Service confirmed there was a micorburst in York Village and a tornado in St. Albans in Somerset County.

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A microburst occurs when strong winds in the upper atmosphere are pushed down to the ground level by heavy downpours. A microburst produces straight-line winds fanning outward, compared with the criss-cross winds that spawn tornadoes.

Meteorologist Steve Capriola said the weather service doesn’t keep statistics on the number of microbursts that occur in Maine each year. The state has an average of two tornadoes each year and there are more microbursts than tornadoes, he said. But exactly how many is hard to track because microbursts sometimes occur in rural areas where the damage goes unreported, he said. He said it’s a coincidence that York Village has had two microbursts in recent years.

“It’s just one of those things,” he said. “They can happen anywhere because anywhere can get a thunderstorm. If you get a large severe storm, you can get microburst winds.”

The Rev. Rachel Bahr, associate pastor of First Parish Congregational Church, said the response from the community has made it easier to clean up the fallen trees there, including one planted when the church was built in 1747. On July 19, a group of church volunteers showed up to gather branches and cut up the trees. A slice of the massive old oak was set aside for preservation because of its age, she said.

Bahr said she was not surprised by the community’s willingness to help, both immediately after the storm and in the weeks to follow.

“I think that’s the New England way,” she said. “It’s something I really treasure about this community.”


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