April 30, 2008 St. John River floods; people evacuate Maine homes

FORT KENT, Maine (AP) - Residents evacuated their homes and businesses Wednesday as this Canadian border town at the northern tip of Maine was threatened with its worst flooding in nearly 30 years.

At least 3 inches of rain in 24 hours combined with melting of the heaviest winter snow accumulation in memory to send the St. John River to 28.2 feet - more than 3 feet above flood stage - and the river was expected to continue rising.

The St. John had risen so much that the International Bridge between Fort Kent and Clair, New Brunswick, was closed during the night amid fears that the racing water could drag it down.

"If that bridge falls over, it would make like a dam, and the water would wash over the main street," Police Chief Kenneth Michaud said.

"We're evacuating all the main streets, going to all the businesses and telling them to close up for safety," Michaud said.

Another bridge in the area, over the Fish River which empties into the St. John, also was closed as a precaution.

In addition to the heavy rain this week, there was still a half-foot of snow on the ground following a winter that dumped around 200 inches of snow in the region.

"In response to that, a lot of these rivers took off," said Joseph Hewitt of the National Weather Service.

It was the highest the river had gotten at Fort Kent since at least 1979, when it reached 27 feet, Hewitt said. The river is expected

Late Tuesday, Gov. John Baldacci issued a state of emergency for Aroostook County because of flooding in the Fort Kent and Wallagrass areas.

An emergency shelter was set up at the University of Maine at Fort Kent, where 20 to 40 people had gathered by late morning.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)