With this winter’s extreme swings from mild to frigid to temperature, Valley residents have become all too familiar with the term “ice jam.” Big blocks of ice have created an ice jam—basically a dam made of ice—on the Connecticut River. With elevated water flow due to rain and melting snow, the rushing water underneath the ice needs a place to go, and it flows quickly when the ice breaks.

Locally, an ice jam has been a recipe for flooding.

In Chester, that flooding has affected Dock Road, Route 148 at the ferry landing, and Castle View Extension.

“All three of those are low-lying and have had some pretty major water and ice over the road,” said First Selectman Lauren Gister, who declared a state of emergency last week. “We have very big blocks of ice and we’ve had up to three feet of water and ice over these roads.”

Most residents in the areas cut off by the flooding had voluntarily evacuated; many of the homes were seasonal. However, several residents were stranded by impassable roads. Volunteers with the Chester Hose Company drove a “deuce-and-a-half” truck—the town’s only piece of equipment that could move through three feet of water—to rescue them. Gister thanked the Fire Department, Chester Ambulance, and the Chester Emergency Management director for their hard work.

“We ended up taking four people out of two houses,” said Gister, who noted that one resident chose to remain in his home. “It took a very long time to get through that ice and out, but they managed to get out there and put the residents with their suitcases and what have you on top of that vehicle and drove back out.”

Last week, the water had dropped a few inches; Gister expressed hope that milder weather would reduce the flooding further. Meanwhile, the Coast Guard is employing ice breakers to try and clear a channel down the center of the Connecticut River. It’s slow work—about 500 yards per hour—and the longer the ice sits, the worse the floods could be when it lets go.

“The Coast Guard says the longer the ice sits stagnant in the freezing temperatures, the harder it becomes to break up,” said Gister. “The rushing water underneath the ice needs a place to go and will flow rapidly when ice breaks, giving it space to move.”

The bulk of ice and moving water may damage docks and slips. Some members of Chester’s yacht clubs are flying drones into the marinas to try to assess the damage. It’s hard to know where the ice will break or when, which means that areas near the river are unsafe.

“We have had flooding before and we’ve certainly had declarations of emergencies during bad storms and hurricanes and snowstorms, but I don’t remember the ice ever being like this,” said Gister. “I imagine the people with the docks and marinas and houses that were right along the water in these low-lying areas, they might have some work to do.”

Despite its hazards, the beauty of the ice jam has attracted visitors to the Connecticut River. Gister acknowledged the draw, but reminds residents: “The ice is beautiful—but it’s also powerful and can be extremely damaging. My concern is getting people back in their homes and having passable road.”