High winds down communication tower on Sugarloaf

This picture, taken by Sugarloaf staff, shows the collapsed tower.

CARRABASSETT VALLEY - Local first responders are arranging alternate means of communication this week, after a tower on top of Sugarloaf collapsed Monday afternoon.

No one was hurt in the collapse, which is believed to have been caused by a combination of high winds and ice build up. Sugarloaf noted on its Facebook page that the collapse had not impacted mountain operations. According to Sugarloaf communications manager Noelle Tuttle, the mountain’s summit was closed Monday due to high wind, so no one was present when it collapsed.

The tower is owned by Somerset Telephone Company, a company that also does business as TDS Telecom. It provides space for several cellular phone carriers, as well as emergency communications for the northern part of the county.

According to a release by TDS Tuesday, contractors will need to wait for the winds to subside before traveling to the site to assess the damage. An unmanned, two-story building at the tower site is still operational, with power and heat, the release said, but the condition of the structure is unknown.

According to Franklin County Emergency Management Agency Director Tim Hardy, three channels utilized by first responders were based off the Sugarloaf tower that collapsed. Franklin County Sheriff's Office North Channel, used by FCSO in the northern part of the county; County Fire North Channel, used by departments in Carrabassett Valley, Kingfield and Eustis; and NorthStar EMS all make use of the structure.

Alternate plans have been made for the different agencies that use those channels, Hardy said. Carrabassett Valley Fire Department and NorthStar are running their communications through a tower on Vose Mountain in Kingfield, for example, while FCSO is using a combination of existing towers in Rangeley and on Mt. Blue. Firefighters in Eustis are utilizing a redundant, text-based communication system used throughout the county.

"Everything seems to be working," Hardy said.

Hardy said that a temporary antenna could go up on Sugarloaf soon.

The TDS tower is one of three on Sugarloaf. A second tower was installed by the state of Maine a few years back as part of an overhaul of the statewide communication system, Hardy said. The third is the radio antenna used by WTOS.