SEBAGO – While damage from Tropical Storm Irene Sunday was mostly limited to downed power lines and lots of brush cluttering roadways and lawns in the Lakes Region, a trailer parked at Nason’s Beach and Campground in the town of Sebago felt the worst of the storm as a tree cut the camper in half Sunday.
The trailer was parked among tall pine trees on the north shore of Sebago Lake when a double-trunk tree from a neighboring property split at about 6:30 p.m.
The trailer’s owners, Matthew Fletcher and Crystal Remedis of Massachusetts, described the damage as a “camper bomb.”
“It was just devastating,” said Fletcher.
The camper was located in an area of tall pines set away from the beach in among several other campers. Fletcher and Remedis had evacuated the trailer about five hours earlier to a field on the Nason’s property, where other campers also took refuge. They spent the time playing card games, talking with other campers and watching what one of the neighbors described as “a wild Sebago Lake” during the height of Sunday’s storm. At about 6:30 p.m. a friend came to tell them that a tree had fallen near their trailer, so the couple went to investigate.
As they approached, they “saw the awning flapping we knew that wasn’t a good sign,” said Remedis.
As of noon Monday, the couple had only managed to salvage a few items from the trailer primarily because the tree was still settling on the metal wreckage. Fletcher said the camper is not insured but he is hoping the damage will be covered by the neighbor’s insurance.
“I’m glad we’re alive,” Fletcher said.
While much of the brunt of Tropical Storm Irene had passed by
Comments are no longer available on this story