Flood Update: Tupper Lake struggling, Saranac Lake stabilizing, Lake Champlain “just warming up”

I’m just back from a loop through Tupper Lake and the situation there remains pretty dire.  Officials at the command center at the village fire hall say the Raquette River is still rising.

Whole neighborhoods there are heavily impacted by high water.  Just reaching the community from the east on Rt. 3 requires driving through a flooded section of highway, which is down to a single lane.

Saranac Lake’s business district is also still struggling with high water, though officials report that the amount of water pressing against bridges has subsided slightly.

Meanwhile, the National Weather Service is reporting that the Schroon River remains three feet above flood stage.

Also, at 8pm last night, Lake Champlain hit 102.7 feet, establishing yet another flood record.

The Burlington Free Press reports that Governor Peter Shumlin toured the flood-struck coast yesterday, the same day that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo was in Moriah, New York.

“We really aren’t at the bottom of this one yet,” Shumlin said. “If you’re around the lake area, we’re just warming up.”

Meanwhile, here’s a Youtube video of the flooding at Long Lake, with a Johnny Cash soundtrack no less.

That scene is at the Long Lake Hotel, and the rock in the foreground is usually so far from the lake that the idea of it being inundated is nearly unimaginable.  But there she sits.

Another video on Youtube shows the situation further south in the Indian Lake region of the Adirondacks.

Boil water advisories remain in effect in many areas.  People with wells who live downstream from flooded areas are advised to stop using water for drinking completely, and to rely on bottled water.

Monday during the 8 O’clock Hour, we’ll have updates from across the region, checking in on the situation in Tupper Lake, Saranac Lake, Crown Point, and other communities.

Tags: flooding