BRISTOL, Maine — Gov. Janet Mills visited the fishing community of New Harbor in Bristol on Friday to survey significant damage from a recent multi-hazard storm.
New Harbor, nestled between two peninsulas in Lincoln County, and the surrounding areas were some of the many coastal Maine towns hit hard by a storm surge Wednesday, ripping through buildings and wharfs. Mills toured the damaged areas at a lobster co-op.
She was joined by Department of Marine Resources Commissioner Patrick Kelliher.
As they spoke with residents of New Harbor in Bristol and saw what remained of a massive cleanup effort, the two warned of another storm on the way, which is expected to bring much of the same intense wind and rain.
The difference with Saturday's storm is it will come with a higher tide than Wednesday's storm.
"Stay home, don't go near the coast, and do not drive through water," Mills told reporters Friday. "This isn't some tourist event."
Mills pointed to the four total deaths from the December storm that flooded many parts of the state and left hundreds of thousands of Maine households without power.
"I strongly urge Maine people, particularly those along the coast, to take this storm seriously, to prepare for it, and to follow the advice of local emergency management officials," Mills said.
At New Harbor on Friday, fishermen and dock workers were seen cleaning up as much as they could. Debris from pilings and broken docks floated in the harbor. The shoreline, exposed by the receding tide, left trash and wood on the beaches.
Part of the cleanup effort was Jason Lord and his son, Ebin. The two live in the area and own a wharf in New Harbor. It was nestled deep in the inlet and was protected from the brunt of the storm damage earlier.
"Every dock here got undermined by the rising tide and the storm surge," Jason Lord said.
Homes were destroyed along with wharfs. The Lords are just a few members of a coalition of neighbors working together to clean up ahead of Saturday's storm.
"It was amazing, I talked [to] my father about it and so many people from the town came to help out. It was a community effort," Ebin Lord, a student at Maine Maritime Academy, said.
Sitting and observing the sheer destruction Friday was Lewis Morton, who is in his 80s.
"I ain't never seen anything like this... and I hope I don't see it again," Morton said. He joked about the climate future of Maine, saying he won't be around these next few years as storm systems bringing warm fronts become more common in Maine.
More wet weather and rising temperatures are forecasted for Maine's climate future.
It's not only the working waterfront that felt the impacts of the previous storm.
The Pemaquid Point Lighthouse bell building was ruined by powerful waves. Steve Hendrix, who works for the town, said the building was just shy of its 200th birthday.
"It's heartbreaking, it really is. This thing has stood here for this much time... and now it's getting destroyed," Hendrix said.
He was seen picking up bricks that fell out of the tower, trying to secure what remained of the building before Saturday's storm is set to roll through.
"If there is any way of saving it, we are going to try," Hendrix said. "The community is tight. It's guys that don't normally work together, but they're doing it."
Mills ended her visit by stating the financial toll these storms are taking on Maine's working waterfronts is yet to be determined. Anyone who works on the water or who owns property on the water can report damages to the Department of Marine Resources through an online form available here.