91视频

By Lisa Rathke

The Associated Press

BURKE, Vt. 鈥斅燭wo bouts of flooding聽from storms in July have hampered businesses and destinations in an economically depressed section of northern Vermont, with some still closed as owners continue to repair damage.

Kingdom Trails, a popular destination for mountain bikers, draws tens of thousands of visitors each year. But the storms that hit the region on July 10 and July 30 washed away some roads and bridges, damaged homes and trails, and discouraged potential visitors at the height of the season.

While managers of some businesses and destinations are keeping them closed as they pick up the pieces, others want to express a different message.

鈥淚 can鈥檛 stress enough that we are open, and our community is welcoming people,鈥� said Abby Long, executive director of Kingdom Trails. 鈥淲e鈥檙e encouraging folks to not only come visit Kingdom Trails and have an awesome time but sign up to volunteer mucking and gutting houses for the morning and then relax on the trails in the afternoon.鈥�

The storms caused $300,000 in damage to the trails 鈥� and that doesn鈥檛 account for the loss of membership revenue, Long said. The trails were closed for about a day and a half as crews worked furiously to reopen them. The cost of repairs comes on top of the $150,000 in flood damage suffered last summer.

鈥淭hat is not sustainable,鈥� Long said.

So far this year, 341 businesses in Vermont have reported flood damage to the state, according to Economic Development Commissioner Joan Goldstein. Last summer, about 1,100 businesses were affected, she said.

In Lyndonville, a popular eatery that had been in business since 1978 was damaged in the July 10 storms. Miss Lyndonville Diner鈥檚 owner is having repairs done but then plans to sell the restaurant. She told聽the Caledonian Record聽that the flooding convinced her it was time to retire.

The nearby Village Sport Shop, which also has been in business for nearly 50 years, will close its flooded Lyndonville shop and exit the ski industry, according to a social media post by the business.

鈥淲ith the multiple flooding events we have endured and the evolution we have needed to take as a business, we have come to the decision it is time to turn our focus towards the summer side of the business and relieve ourselves from the flood risks the lowest lying real estate on the strip endures,鈥� the post said. The business has a trailside bicycle shop in East Burke.

A bagel shop and a Walgreens drugstore were still temporarily closed due to flood damage.

On Tuesday, President Biden approved聽a major disaster declaration聽making federal funding available to help individuals and communities recover from the July 9-10 flooding generated by the remnants of Hurricane Beryl. Gov. Phil Scott has requested a separate disaster declaration for the July 30 storms and flooding.

In May, Vermont became the聽first state聽to enact a law requiring fossil fuel companies to pay a share of the damage caused by extreme weather fanned聽by climate change. But officials have acknowledged that collecting any money will depend on litigation against a much-better-resourced oil industry.

In Burke, a town of about 1,650 that is home to the Burke Mountain ski area, Kingdom Trails is a huge economic driver, Town Administrator Jim Sullivan said.

鈥淚t鈥檚 traumatic 鈥斅爄t鈥檚 unbelievable the extent that it ripples out,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f Kingdom Trails can鈥檛 open, people cancel their reservations at the Airbnbs and at the inns. We have restaurants that are counting on all of those people coming here. And it鈥檚 just a chain event that eventually dwindles where you have these absolutely beautiful days and you just don鈥檛 have the people here that we normally would have if we didn鈥檛 have this devastation.鈥�

The East Burke Market was enjoying a profitable summer but when the trails closed down, business 鈥渃ame to a bit of a screeching halt,鈥� co-owner Burton Hinton said.

Each storm聽caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in road and property damage, Sullivan said. The town lost a bridge in the July 10 flooding and the whole mountain road in the later storm, he said.

鈥淲e鈥檙e still waiting for some direction from the federal government,鈥� he said. 鈥淚n the meantime, everybody has really come together and done a great job of helping each other 鈥斅爐rue community.鈥�

About 60 student-athletes in the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Cycling League and 40 coaches were in Burke to train at Kingdom Trails when the latest flooding hit on July 30. The group had to pivot to ride on gravel for a few days but then some trails reopened quickly, said a member of the group, Michael Morrell of the National Interscholastic Cycling Association.

鈥淭he trail system up here and the trail crew are just so efficient, and the trails, many of the trails, they drain very well,鈥� he said on Aug. 1.

Bur Morrell said he felt terrible for those reliant on business from visitors of the local trails.

鈥淚 feel so bad that their roads are closed,鈥� he said. 鈥溾�� We鈥檙e just glad that we can help support them in any way we can.鈥�