On Sunday, June 21st at 5:16 PM, the Sunapee Fire Department was dispatched to Sunapee Harbor near 71 Main Street for a report of an unknown substance in the water.
Lieutenant Timothy White, who happened to be in Sunapee Harbor at the time of the dispatch, arrived on scene at 5:18 PM and confirmed a large sheen covering a portion of the harbor.
Sunapee Fire personnel worked alongside the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NH DES), the Midwestern New Hampshire Hazardous Materials Team, and the Sunapee Police Department to contain the spill and prevent it from spreading further throughout the harbor.
NH DES collected samples of the substance and will be conducting testing tomorrow to help determine the source and composition of the spill.
Containment booms will remain in place throughout the harbor overnight. Unfortunately, this means that some boats may be temporarily blocked in by the containment area. Crews from the Sunapee Fire Department and NH DES will return tomorrow morning to continue monitoring the situation and maintain the containment area.
If your boat is located within the containment area, or if you are attempting to access public docks located inside the boomed-off section of the harbor, we ask that you please do not move, disturb, or attempt to go around the containment booms. We understand this is an inconvenience, especially during the busy summer boating season, but the cooperation of the community is critical to ensuring the spill is successfully contained and removed.
We will provide additional updates as more information becomes available tomorrow.
Questions regarding this incident may be directed to Sunapee Fire Department Public Information Officer Lieutenant Timothy White at fire [at] sunapeenh.gov (fire[at]sunapeenh[dot]gov).
Thank you for your patience and cooperation.