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Maine National Guard return home after blizzard cleanup

PORTLAND (WGME) -- Crews with the Maine National Guard are back home after helping people in Connecticut dig out from record amounts of snowfall following last week's blizzard. Several feet of snow brought communities in southern New England to a halt.   

Stranded plow trucks, people trapped in their homes and roads buried in more than 40 inches of snow in Connecticut. It's the bull’s-eye of the blizzard of 2013, leaving many communities paralyzed and buried in record amounts of snow across the northeast.

Sgt. Kevin Sherman, 185th Engineer Support Co.: "They did have a lot of communities that needed assistance moving snow. A lot of towns were on a one lane road and streets. People were having a hard time getting around."

Sergeant Kevin Sherman is one of several Maine national guarsdman who packed up the equipment and headed south to Connecticut to help people dig out. Members of the 185th Engineer Support Company from Caribou hauled away snow and helping the people in southern New England.

Matthew Quint, 185th Engineer Support Co.: “They loved my boys. They were waving at them. They were also pointing to where the cars were so we wouldn't hit them because you couldn't see them sometimes. Really nice people."

After four full days of work, these Maine National Guardsmen are arriving back in Portland. For some, it was the first time on a mission like this.

Quint: “A lot of them had not operated in that environment before. Never semi deployed. A lot of them are news soldiers and this is a good learning experience for them."

It only took 24 hours for the blizzard of 2013 to dump historic amounts of snow. The clean-up is still underway and will likely much longer before it's complete. But with the help of these Maine National Guardsmen, they are well on their way in the big dig out.
Maine National Guard return home after blizzard cleanup

Monday, February 18 2013, 06:55 PM EST

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