Landfall is expected Saturday afternoon in Nova Scotia. The Category 1 storm is big enough to cause concerns over a wide area even if it weakens to a tropical storm.
BAR HARBOR, Maine — Fishermen removed lobster traps from the water and residents hauled hundreds of boats ashore — leaving some harbors looking like ghost towns — while utility workers from as far away as Tennessee began taking up positions Friday ahead of Hurricane Lee’s heavy winds, high seas and rain that’s expected to span hundreds of miles of land and sea.
Landfall was projected for nearby Nova Scotia, but the Category 1 system was big enough to cause concerns over a wide area even if it weakens to a tropical storm. On Long Island, commercial lobster fisherman Steve Train had just finished hauling 200 traps out of the water. Train, who is also a firefighter, was going to wait out the storm on the island in Casco Bay.In South Thomaston, Dave Cousens, who lost fishing gear when Hurricane Bob came through in 1991, said lobstermen were busy moving their traps, which cost $100 to $170 apiece, to try to avoid damage from the rough seas.
But it was still a dangerous storm. Kyle Leavitt, director of the New Brunswick Emergency Management Organization, urged residents to stay home, saying, “Nothing good can come from checking out the big waves and how strong the wind truly is.”Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey joined Maine in declaring a state of emergency and asking the Federal Emergency Management Agency to issue a pre-disaster emergency declaration.