BOURKE, Vt. (AP) — Flooding from two July storms has battered businesses and tourist destinations in economically depressed parts of northern Vermont, with some areas still closed as they continue to repair damage and others encouraging visitors who avoided travel because of the weather to return.
Kingdom Trails is a popular spot for mountain bikers, drawing tens of thousands of visitors each year, but the storms that hit the area on July 10 and July 30 washed out roads and bridges, damaged homes and trails, and reduced tourism during the peak season.
Businesses and attractions are working to recover, and while some in nearby Lyndonville remain closed, others are eager to let the public know they’re open for business.
“We can’t emphasize enough that we are open and our community welcomes people,” said Abby Long, executive director of Kingdom Trails. “We encourage people to not only come and have a great time at Kingdom Trails, but also to sign up to volunteer to clean a house or strip out the interior in the morning and then relax on the trail in the afternoon.”
The storm caused $300,000 in damage to the trail, she said, not including lost membership revenue. The trail was closed for about a day and a half while crews worked frantically to restore it. The repair costs were on top of $150,000 in damage sustained from flooding last summer.
“It’s not sustainable,” Long said.
So far this year, 341 businesses in Vermont have reported flood damage, according to Economic Development Commissioner Joan Goldstein. About 1,100 businesses were affected last summer, Goldstein said.
In Lyndonville, a popular diner that has been in business since 1978 was damaged in the July 10 storm and will not reopen. The owner of Miss Lyndonville Diner is making repairs and plans to sell the restaurant. She told the Caledonian Record that the flooding convinced her it was time to retire.
Nearby Village Sports Shop, which has also been in business for nearly 50 years, has decided to close its flooded Lyndonville store and exit the ski industry, the company said in a social media post.
“We have experienced multiple floods and have had to evolve as a business, so we have decided it is time to shift our focus to summer business and remove ourselves from the flood risk posed by the lowest lying land on the Strip,” the post read. The business owns Trailside Bike Shop in East Burke.
The Bagel Shop and Walgreens Drug Store remain temporarily closed as they work to recover from flood damage.
In May, Vermont became the first state to pass a law requiring fossil fuel companies to pay a share of damages from extreme weather caused by climate change, but officials acknowledge that collecting the money depends on lawsuits against the much better-funded oil industry.
In Burke, a town of about 1,650 people that includes Burke Mountain Ski Area, Kingdom Trails is a major economic driver, said Mayor Jim Sullivan.
“It’s shocking. The ripple effects are unbelievable,” he said. “If Kingdom Trails can’t open, people are canceling their Airbnb reservations, their inns. Restaurants are counting on all the people coming here. And it’s a cascading event that eventually drops off and we have some really beautiful days, but people that would normally be here if this devastating situation hadn’t happened aren’t here.”
East Burke Market was doing really well in the summer, but when the trail closed, “business came to a screeching halt,” co-owner Burton Hinton said.
Sullivan said each storm caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage to roads and properties. The town lost a bridge in the July 10 flood and an entire mountain pass was washed away by another storm a few weeks later.
“We’re still waiting on guidance from the federal government. In the meantime, everybody has really come together and done a great job of helping each other out. A true community,” he said.
About 60 student-athletes and 40 coaches competing in cross-country and mountain biking events in the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Cycling League were in Burke to train at Kingdom Trails when the flooding occurred on July 30.
The group was forced to switch to cycling on gravel roads for a few days, but some trails quickly reopened afterwards, said Michael Morrell of the National High School Bicycling Association, who was with them.
“The trail system and trail crews here are very efficient and many of the trails are very well drained,” he said Aug. 1.
Still, he says he feels bad for those who depend on drawing tourists to local boardwalks.
“It’s a real shame the road has been closed,” Morrell said, “… We’re happy to be able to help them in any way we can.”