By David Harry
Staff Writer

Camp Ellis was a source of curiosity for storm watchers as Tropical Storm Irene came through northern New England mid-afternoon Sunday.
The area at the mouth of the Saco River and Atlantic Ocean was not inundated, a measure of the glancing coastal blow struck by the storm that remained well inland.
Nicole Harding and her niece, Lilly King, ventured ankle high into the surf around 2 p.m. They were staying at a beach side house along Sunset Avenue.
“I think it is warmer than it was yesterday,” said Harding. “And when you are in the water, the sand does not whip up as much.”
Tropical Storm Irene was downgraded from a hurricane as it reached New York, then charted a course through Vermont and New Hampshire. The hurricane followed the East Coast after it reached North Carolina last Saturday morning.
Central Maine Power Co. Spokesman John Carroll said at the height of the storm, 187,000 customers lost power throughout the utility service area, including more than 44,000 York County customers.
Maps provided by CMP show no more than 10 percent of Biddeford and Saco customers lost power by Sunday evening. In Old Orchard Beach, as many as 50 percent of customers were in the dark at that time, but Assistant Town Manager Louise Reid reported all power restored except on two streets by 5:45 p.m. Monday.
Passenger rail service on the Amtrak Downeaster was halted through Monday afternoon and Old Orchard Beach attractions including the Pier and Palace Playground were dark as officials ordered the beach closed until Monday morning.
Some businesses, including Lisa’s Pizza, remained open during the storm as storm watchers braved gusty winds and gobs of raindrops to walk along the beach. Behind them, chairs on the idled Palace Playground Ferris wheel rocked in the wind.
As she urged other family members to join her in the surf, Harding said high tide at 11 a.m. Sunday brought waves that crashed against the sea wall in Camp Ellis. She said she and her family would continue to check conditions Sunday evening in case high tide brought flooding.
“We will be cautious. We will watch the trees and the wires,” she said,
In Saco, an emergency shelter opened at 6 p.m. last Saturday at Saco Community Center. It drew five people, said American Red Cross Director of Communications Jason Shedlock.
“We planned for the worst and hoped for the best,” he said of the center, which was also prepared to shelter pets.
Shedlock said those who came in seemed to have lost power and wanted a hot meal as opposed to fleeing flooding or wind damage.
Officials at the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Gray said storm data from York County towns was incomplete, possibly because weather observers lost phone service during the storm.
Rainfall totals were unavailable except for Kittery Point, where about 10 inches was recorded. Wind gusts of 36 mph were measured in Sanford. The inland track of the storm was evident as gusts of 42 mph and 4 inches of rain were recorded in Cornish.
After the tropical storm passed, sunny skies brightened the area, but Executive Motel Manager and Co-owner Mary Jerome said the economic harm from the storm could damage the East Grand Avenue motel in Old Orchard Beach.
Jerome said staff spent the weekend bringing in lawn furniture and picnic tables. By Sunday, between 30 and 35 people had checked out of the motel.
Jerome said room rates had already been discounted because this is the final week of summer vacation,
“We were full,” she said. “We hope everybody comes back.”

Staff Writer David Harry can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 213.