ADDISON COUNTY — For the third July in a row, severe thunderstorms brought heavy rain, hail and flash flooding to parts of Vermont, particularly Addison County. Mark it on your calendar — July 10 appears to have a target on it.

Communities are still recovering from Thursday’s deluge, which led to road closures, downed trees and powerlines, and severe damage to homes and buildings across the county. Power outages were reported for around an hour on Thursday evening around dinnertime. Middlebury also reported a widespread power outage for about an hour on Friday morning.

Less than a half-hour of intense rain on Thursday evening left a small lake in the parking lot at Hannaford supermarket.
Photo by Jaime Cammack

According to the National Weather Service, 4.32 inches of rain had fallen by 6:30 p.m. in New Haven, leading to the closure of Field Days Road from Route 17 to Twitchell Hill Road. Multiple trees were also downed on Route 125 while a leak of hydraulic fluid near Middlebury College saw access to the state highway temporarily restricted.

The Middlebury Fire Department was out all night in a what Fire Chief David Shaw described as a “marathon effort” to respond to calls and ensure the safety of Addison County residents.

“We responded to 10 emergencies in 10 hours while having a swift water rescue team on standby for the state of Vermont,” Shaw said. “But we were able to handle every emergency that came in.”

Along with attending to entangled powerlines and trees fallen on houses, Shaw said the fire department responded to two simultaneous lightning strikes on two different houses. The chief said the resulting fires caused severe damages to one house and minor damages to the other.

Vergennes and Salisbury fire departments were also helping out with calls around Middlebury, including when high winds ripped off part of the roof at Middlebury Union High School. Firefighters were able to put the roof back into place early this morning.

MUHS ROOF DAMAGE

A relatively brief but immensely powerful rainstorm unleashed its fury on the MUHS campus around 6 p.m. on Thursday. It peeled back a 4,000-square-foot section the MUHS roof above the school auditorium while tossing around trees, flattening the visitors’ dugout on the baseball field, ripping the cupola off the football field concession stand and blowing a 2,000-pound baseball diamond backstop all the way past the adjacent Patricia Hannaford Career Center.

Addison Central School District officials and insurance agents on Friday were on site taking stock in the storm damage.

Emily Blistein, the ACSD’s director of communications and engagement, described Thursday’s cataclysm in a Friday morning email to district board members.

“A brief burst of storm blew wind from the north, which caused a section on the north side of the MUHS roof to peel back. This resulted in some water damage to the MUHS boys’ locker room. There was some water in the hallways of the G-wing, which includes the kitchen and auditorium. At present, the kitchen, auditorium, and band room themselves appeared to be undamaged. The roof over the gym also appears intact.”

Vergennes firefighters using the department’s tower truck responded to Middlebury Union High School Thursday evening to help secure a portion of the roof that was blown off by high winds.
Photo courtesy of Vergennes Fire Department

Members of the Middlebury and Vergennes fire departments arrived after the storm to tack the roof back down and install a tarp to mitigate any immediate damage, according to Blistein.

MUHS roof damage.
Photo by Sean Farrell

“We are grateful to additional community responders, including Vermont Roofing Company, Silver Maple Construction, Jim Danyow of Champlain Construction, and our own ACSD custodians,” she said.

Also putting in long hours have been ACSD Facilities Director Bruce Macintire, MUHS Principal Caitlin Steele and MUHS Athletic Director Sean Farrell.

Reached by phone early Friday afternoon, Macintire said the roof damage is the most significant casualty of Thursday’s storm. Based on officials’ initial survey of the damage, the roof fix could either involve:

• Installing a membrane over the damaged portion, which could cost in the “10s of thousands” of dollars, according to Macintire.
• A re-roofing of the damaged portion, if the roof’s underpinnings are too damaged/waterlogged to be salvaged. A re-roofing job would likely be a seven-figures repair job, Macintire said.

While Thursday’s storm brought bad tidings, there were some silver linings, Macintire acknowledged.

First, no one was hurt; that portion of the MUHS building was unoccupied at the time of the storm. And the fact that it occurred during summer break bodes well for repairs to be finished before students return.

Second, the roof damage didn’t occur over the MUHS gym, which could have been put out of commission by flood damage.

Third, water damage was confined to building areas with little or no furniture, and no computer equipment. Macintire said there are plenty of saturated and collapsed ceiling tiles, but fortunately no critical infrastructure underneath.

The visitors’ dugout on the MUHS baseball field was flattened by high winds on Thursday.
Photo by Sean Farrell

And some more good news: It looks like the vast majority of repairs will be covered through the ACSD’s insurance. The district also carries a contingency fund, and the state of Vermont offers 30% reimbursement on emergency repairs up to $300,000, according to Macintire.

“Taxpayers won’t feel any immediate pinch,” he said, though the insurance settlement will likely result in higher insurance rates down the line.

As the storm moved in, the Vergennes Fire Department staged resources between 4:30 and 9:30 p.m., according to a Facebook post. VFD staffed a 10-member swiftwater rescue team at the station, ready to respond to emergencies both locally and across the state as needed.

In answering a mutual aid request from Middlebury, VFD provided its tower truck to assist at four separate incidents within the town — not just at MUHS. And the department at the same time maintained coverage within the city of Vergennes with personnel on standby.

“VFD is proud to maintain a roster of 40 active members, as well as additional specialized personnel on our technical rescue team,” the Facebook post said. “This depth of staffing provides us the flexibility and capability to support our community, mutual aid partners, and the state — simultaneously.

“In today’s world, a fully staffed volunteer fire department is a rare thing. We don’t take that lightly. We’re proud of it—and we’re proud to serve.”

The Middlebury fire chief said he’s grateful for the help of neighboring fire departments, and that these mutual aid agreements are what keep Vermonters safe and communities strong.

“Again, we were pushed to the limit this July, and again, we were able to answer each call we had,” Shaw said.

“We take great pride in that.”

Key resources

• For state road closure information, visit newengland511.org or follow @511VT on X. (For local road closures, check Waze or monitor town communications, such as a website or Facebook page.)
• You can sign up for alerts from the state at vtalert.gov.
• The latest forecasts and water levels for specific rivers are provided by the National Water Prediction Service.
• Find power outage information at vtoutages.org
• For a list of state resources and guidance about flooding, visit disasterrecovery.vermont.gov/. The guidance includes returning home after a flood, cleaning up, and dealing with mold.
• Find flood recovery information in multiple languages at vem.vermont.gov/flood/translation.
• To find more resources and services, call Vermont 2-1-1 or visit vermont211.org.
• For mental health support, call 9-8-8 or call or text the SAMHSA Disaster Distress Helpline at 1-800-985-5990.
• If flood waters reached your private well or spring, order a drinking water test kit through the Vermont Department of Health.
• Find flood-prone areas near you with the Vermont Flood Ready Atlas.