Gov. Mills tours storm damage ahead of second storm Saturday

BRISTOL (WGME) — Governor Janet Mills has already declared a state of civil emergency ahead of Saturday’s storm, as the state still grapples with damage from Wednesday’s flooding.

Friday, the governor toured some of that devastation in Bristol to find out how fishermen are coping with the damage.

“Changing the look of our harbor, that’s the biggest thing,” New Harbor Lobster Co-op President Mike Prior said. “We’ve lost probably seven or eight docks and everything else in here has been lifted up and removed.”

Prior works with 26 fishermen at the New Harbor Co-op. Now, none of them are able to bring their catch onto their dock. It’s too weak after being damaged by Wednesday’s storm.

“We are nonfunctional,” Prior said. “When you don’t have access, you’re in trouble.”

Governor Mills toured that wharf Friday, alongside Maine’s Marine Resource Commissioner Patrick Keliher, as a part of a statewide damage assessment.

“You’ve got a wharf like across the harbor here that looks fine, that it’s not fine,” Keliher said. “There’s hundreds of thousands of dollars of damage to them.”

“Places that I love, everybody loves, and places that are so important to our economy like this, like this co-op facility,” Mills said. “And the effect on the economy to this area, to this region, into the whole state of Maine is important to recognize. We want to rebuild as soon as we can.”

Prior is grateful for the state’s support and says he’ll take any help he can get after being pummeled by Wednesday’s waves.

“It’s been an eye opener to what the ocean can do,” Prior said. “It’s a lot of power.”

The governor is also urging people to stay safe Saturday. She says to stay away from the coastline if you can and listen to local authorities.