In rural Newfoundland, the scars from a fierce winter storm are still healing
Cleanup continues in outport communities after weekend storm slammed Newfoundland
The storm that battered Newfoundland over the weekend has left scars on parts of rural Newfoundland, including a northwest Trinity Bay community where one resident is worried it might never go back to what it was before the destruction.
Wendy Lakes, who lives in Petley, a local service district on Random Island, said the storm destroyed wharves, fishing stages, sheds and more — and they're still going through the wreckage.
"We had really high waves. We had flooding. We had the whole gamut. Anything you can imagine — we had," Lake told CBC Radio's The Broadcast.
Now, looking around in the aftermath of the storm, she said many of her neighbours have lost structures on their properties.
"I know for three buildings, two stages and a storage shed that have completely collapsed. There's others that structurally, we're not really sure what's going to come of them yet."
She added she can see shed walls that have buckled.
"There was a retired fisherman that completely lost everything he had. He only got his boat out about five minutes before it collapsed. We watched that go down," said Lake.
Lake said her parents also lost their wharf, fishing stage and fishing equipment. However, she said the fishing stage's roof also caused damage.
"The roof of it actually came off with the wind, took out a pole, power lines and went through the corner of one of our neighbours homes," she said.
The roof was thrown into the master bedroom but Lake said fortunately, the owners were not in that room at the time.
On top of damage to buildings, Lake said there is kelp and driftwood littered across roads and driveways. She said the roads are being assessed and she hopes a cleanup crew will be out soon.
Recovery will take time
Lake said it's going to take time for Petley to get back to normal after the storm.
"It's a matter of cleaning up debris, getting things tidied back, putting the driveway back because right now I'm using my lawn as my driveway," she said.
"But with respect to the stages and some of the other infrastructure, I don't know if it'll ever be put back the way it was. And it's sad because it's all been there for decades."
Though the number of fish harvesters has been declining, Lake said it's still important to the area and fishermen are still drawn to the region to catch mackerel, herring and squid.
"It's a happening place when the fisheries on the go."
Lake said there were similarities between the recent storm and Hurricane Igor, a large tropical cyclone that struck Newfoundland in 2010. She said during that storm, a hill near her home provided some shelter.
"It was strong wind and we got hit hard with that one, but we had more issues with the flooding as opposed to the wind with Igor, whereas this one was mostly wind damage," she said.
Dramatic horse rescue
Meanwhile, more than 200 kilometres away, a horse owner in the small outport community of Pound Cove was part of a dramatic rescue effort during the weekend storm, as high winds and pounding surf nearly destroyed a decades-old fishing-stage-turned-barn holding some animals.
Dana Blackmore said she knew Sunday's winter storm would cause damage, but had to quickly gather her two horses and a mule when she heard a different fishing stage nearby had been destroyed.
"We had had word that our friend's stage at the end of the road was gone, and that's a big structure. And I just ran up on the landing…and literally I just had to scramble," Blackmore told CBC Radio Tuesday.
"It's hard to believe how fast that surge can come."
The storm brought major flooding, high winds and infrastructure damage to the region surrounding Pound Cove. The Town of Gambo, about an hour south of Pound Cove, declared a state of emergency on Monday following the storm.
Blackmore said she had her animals gathered in about 20 minutes and was able to move them with the help of her neighbours — some of whom hadn't had prior experience with horses.
She credits her neighbours for stepping up in her time of need, even as they were dealing with property damage of their own. One person who helped did so in rubber boots filled with water, she said.
"If you're excited and you're nervous and you're scared, [horses] pick up on that instantly. And they're flight animals, so their number one [thing] is to get away from the danger," Blackmore said.
"My fear was that what they were going to do once we got them outside…It was their first time walking a horse anywhere, leading a horse. And never mind walking them out in 110-kilometre winds."
Blackmore said the animals are doing well and is thankful the stage — which has been in her family for 70 years, and was converted into a barn of sorts — survived the storm. However, she knows others close to the water weren't so lucky.
"It's always been a concern," she said. "Nobody's ever seen anything like this."
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With files from The Broadcast