High tides have caused flooding to houses near and along Ginn Point Road, in Owls Head, Saturday, January 13, 2024, according to Owls Head Fire Chief Skip Hallett. Owls Head Fire Department was first called to this area, at the end of Crescent Beach Road, around noon after a report of a propane tank getting loose and bobbing in the waves. Finding the end of the road unpassable, the decision was made to shut the road off to traffic until the 11:52 a.m. high tide receded. A person in a large pickup truck who had come to check on a property along Ginn Point Road was turned away until the road reopened at 2:45 p.m.

Throughout the region, many residents risked rain and wind gusts as they drove along the coastal areas around lunchtime to get a look at a high tide expected to be higher than a tide three days prior that caused significant flooding. 

Lincolnville FD closed Beach Street (Route 1) ahead of high tide. Cushing FD was called to a vehicle that had gotten its wheels entangled in a downed wire, and a couple of other town fire departments were called for downed trees. In South Thomaston, Island Road bridge was closed at the request of Maine Dept. of Transportation. At 2:30 p.m, the road was opened to one lane. Buttermilk Lane, in South Thomaston, was closed for a time, but reopened just before 2:30 p.m. In St. George, water was seen going over a road in Martinsville.

After seeing the aftermath of the previous storm, Jan. 10, 2024, several municipalities, including Belfast, Rockland, and Thomaston, opted to close their waterfront public access spots ahead of today’s storm, which ramped up around 8:15 a.m., and was due to dissipate by 3 p.m. The closures were for the safety of civilians, but also so that emergency crews, restoration departments, and private business owners could get access to the structures and problems of concern, which had become an issue on Jan. 10.