A large poplar tree was blown down Friday evening at 391 Old Jay Hill Road in Jay. The electric meter was pulled from the home owned by Dennis Corriveau and two cars were damaged. Four other homes that lost power at the time have had power restored. Patrick Duffy photo
JAY — A home at 391 Old Jay Hill has been without power since Friday evening when a large poplar tree was blown down by high winds.
The home is owned by Dennis Corriveau, according to the Jay Town Office.
“We cut the tree up, then the Jay Highway Department brought its bucket loader to push the stuff out of the roadway to make it passable,” Jay Fire Chief Mike Booker said. “(The tree) did damage two vehicles, part of the house when it pulled the meter off.”
Neighbor Patrick Duffy said he got a call from his wife about 5:45 p.m. Friday, who said she heard a big cracking noise and was panicking.
“Five houses lost power,” Duffy said. Part of the tree fell across the driveway, breaking the windshield on a small gray van and damaging the back end of a black car, he noted. He estimated the tree to be a couple hundred years old. “It had been there forever.” Four wheelers with plows were used to remove the debris from the road, he added.
Neighbors previously had concerns about the tree, Duffy said. He said Corriveau was told it would cost $7,000 to $8,000 to cut it down and a large crane would be needed because it was so big.
Jay Fire responded calls about eight trees and lines down Friday night, Booker said.
“We were back (at 391 Old Jay Hill Road) yesterday to pump about 12 inches of water from (Corriveau’s) basement,” Booker said. “Without power, his sump pump was not working.”
The other homes affected have had their power restored, Booker noted. Because the meter was pulled from the home, the house at 391 Old Jay Hill Road is still without power, he added.
Livermore Fire Chief Donald Castonguay said his department spent about four hours Friday night dealing with trees and lines down.
“Early Friday it wasn’t bad, but we had some gusts of wind between 6 and 7 (p.m.) that did quite a bit of damage,” he said. “We went to Turkey Lane, Sanders (Road) and Gibbs Mill Road where a transformer was down.”
There was some minor flooding on Boothby and River roads, no fires, Castonguay added.
Jay Fire responded to Livermore Falls calls twice over the weekend due to flooding issues, Booker said.
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