In Johnson, cautious optimism Thursday afternoon as Lamoille appears to crest

A year ago in Johnson, Declan Stefanski and his neighbors woke up to find their yards underwater. July 2023’s historic rainfall brought the Lamoille River surging past its banks, flooding Johnson’s grocery store, health clinic and homes.

As of Thursday afternoon, amid flash flooding across the state, Johnson — and Stefanski and his neighbors — were largely spared a repeat of 2023.

“We held up decent compared to last year,” Stefanski said. “Thus far.”

Stefanski was among a group of Johnson residents who set out on bicycles Thursday afternoon in the humid heat to assess the flooding damage.

By then, the rising river had closed a handful of roads, including Route 15 on Johnson’s western side. Waters pooled in low-lying areas, and damage to residential roads had left people stranded in their homes, Stefanski and neighbors said. A worker could be seen clearing water from behind the sandbagged entrance to the post office.

If you’re seeing something in your community, leave a tip in our tip drop .

But the visible damage was much less severe than what the town sustained last year. The Lamoille River at Johnson appeared to have crested at just shy of 18 feet Thursday afternoon, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and town officials.

In 2023, by contrast, the Lamoille River crested at 21 feet in Johnson, shuttering the still-closed grocery store, inundating the wastewater treatment plant, library and post office .

Town officials — and residents — were also more prepared, Lucas Queiroz, part of the cyclist group, said. The town had closed roads and posted a stream of updates about the river’s water levels on social media and its website.

“(Fire department staff) were knocking on everyone’s door just letting them know that they’re keeping tabs on things,” Queiroz said. “Which wasn’t done last year.”

Still, that preparation underscores the painful lessons — and fresh memories — from last year’s flooding.

“Like, towns just finished recovering, pretty much, from it last year,” said Julie Vanetten before continuing the ride.

Read the story on VTDigger here: In Johnson, cautious optimism Thursday afternoon as Lamoille appears to crest .