Crews in East Burke and surrounding areas spent Friday cleaning up after a powerful wind storm swept through the Northeast Kingdom on July 10. The storm snapped trees, damaged power lines, and left debris scattered across roads and trails.
The most significant damage was reported along Route 114, where trees were uprooted and three properties were impacted, according to the East Burke Fire Brigade. Minor injuries were reported, but no further details were available. Large trees also fell on Darling Hill Road, blocking the Burklyn mountain trail and forcing mountain bikers to walk their bikes.
“You couldn't ride it. You just had to walk your bike through the trails. Yeah, it was crazy. Never seen anything like it,” said resident Brad Leabourne.
Power lines were heavily damaged, leaving some homes and businesses without electricity temporarily. Restoration crews worked through the day, and the majority of outages were resolved by Friday afternoon. The main access road to Burke Mountain Resort was closed for cleanup, but the resort remained accessible via Pinkham Road. The resort delayed the opening of its bike park while crews cleared trails.
“We did have a pretty localized, severe wind event. But the damage is relatively limited,” said Gabriel Porter-Henry, general manager of Burke Mountain Resort. He noted the storm hit near the anniversary of previous severe weather, but added, “Luckily this is like nothing we've experienced in the past years.”
Safety officials urged residents not to drive over downed power lines and instead report them to local authorities and turn around.
Originally reported by WPTZ NBC5.
Photo: Marco Bicca via Unsplash. Photo is illustrative and not from the scene.
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