SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine — Volunteers brought their buckets and shovels to Willard Beach in South Portland Thursday to start replanting the dunes decimated by last week’s storm.
The South Portland Parks Department says that many of the dunes were washed off between Willow Street and Beach Street during last Friday’s rain and windstorm.
Residents say they were expecting damage from the storm but were impressed with the force of it.
“I’ve never seen anything like it. The water, the surges were unbelievable,” said Kay Mallory, a volunteer.
Mallory is focusing on one task for the day and says it could take hours.
“I noticed all of the roots are all bare roots and if we can get some sand over them, I think that might help protect them a little bit and for regrowth,” Mallory said.
Another resident is sticking to replanting for now.
While volunteers are trying their best to protect the beach, it’s going to take a much larger effort to repair the damage from Friday’s storm.
“All of us are talking, all of us are having conversations and trying to figure out what to do at every level. Residents, the city council, the state, the city staff. We’re all trying to figure out what to do,” said Beach Street resident John Pani.
The city’s parks department says they’ll be working with the Department of Environmental Protection to figure out how to best regrow the dunes, which could take years.