Building toppled by Kyle to be rebuilt

By Kathy Johnson

THE COAST GUARD

NovaNewsNow.com

Power lines were downed, trees uprooted, coastal areas flooded and fishermen kept on their toes when tropical storm Kyle blew ashore on Sept. 28.

Kyle packed winds reported gusting to 124 km at Baccaro Point, and up to 154 km off the Shelburne coast by a Coast Guard ship,

Approximately 3,000 Shelburne County residents were without power during the storm. All power was restored by midnight on Sept. 29, said Nova Scotia Power spokesperson Margaret Murphy. “Our crews worked right through the storm,” said Murphy “They picked their moments and were able to restore power fairly quickly.”

At county wharves, fishermen kept a vigil throughout the evening, ensuring the lines remained secured to the fleet. “We just saved one from going on the rocks,” said Clark’s Harbour fishermen Ricky Smith during the height of the storm.

The Canadian Coast Guard crew in Clark’s Harbour also lent a hand. “They were having problems holding the boats in the harbour,” said coxswain Jim Newell. “Some of them were taking a pretty good pounding.”

While a storm surge warning was in effect for Kyle, “By the time the tide got up the wind had shifted,” said Newell, which improved the situation. “The only boats taking a beating then were the ones at the end of the wharf,” he said.

The storm surge did cause flooding and erosion in coastal areas, and forced the closure of a number roads including Dock Street in Shelburne, where Kyle packed a punch, flattening a commercial building under construction on King Street by Harlow Construction for its’ new office. “Luckily we had taken out builders risk insurance,” said co-owner Rob Harlow, as work was underway last week to rebuild the structure. “I’ve got guys on the left side demolishing and guys on the right rebuilding. It’s like a government make work project,” he joked.

Shelburne volunteer firefighters were called out during the storm to pump out a boat that was sinking at the Shelburne Marine Terminal. “It was a very dangerous situation to put the guys into,” said Shelburne fire chief Edgar Allison. “It was at the height of the storm and things were getting beat to pieces.”

The boat, laden with a ton and a half of feed for the salmon farm, was the third vessel out from the wharf, said Allison, which meant firefighters had to cross two other vessels to get pumps aboard the sinking vessel. “I had second thoughts about getting the guys on the boats but they wanted to do it. It was a little hairy for a while. It took a lot of work but we did save it,” said Allison.

Kyle came ashore as a marginal category one hurricane just to the north of Yarmouth and weakened rapidly into a tropical storm before moving into the Bay of Fundy.