Storm Story: 61 People Stranded For 10 Hours At Oxford’s Jackson Cove

OXFORD – Resident Sheila Borino was one of 61 people trapped for about 10 hours Sunday at Jackson Cove, a public park in Oxford on the shore of Lake Zoar, the body of water formed by the Stevenson Dam on the Housatonic River. 

Flash flooding hit the area Sunday afternoon, wreaking havoc on southwestern Connecticut. Two women in Oxford were killed in separate incidents.

Borino, her friends, and family, had gathered at Jackson Cove at about 12 p.m. Sunday to celebrate her daughter Juliana’s second birthday. There’a a pavilion and playground there.

It was raining at the start of the party, but the weather forecasts said the rain would move on.

“We kept checking and everybody kept telling me, ​‘OK, in a half an hour it’s going to clear up’,” Borino said.

Thirty minutes would go by, and the rain would keep falling. They’d check the forecast again, and again the forecast would call for the rain to let up.

It just didn’t happen.

After serving cake and singing happy birthday – the Old World Pizza Truck stuck it out to provide food – the party goers started to leave. 

It was about 2 p.m. and was ​“raining buckets,” she said.

“Everybody who got into their cars and left came back to the party 15 minutes later and said ​‘We can’t get out. There’s no road’,” she said.

The only road to the park – Jackson Cove Road – had washed out.

Borino called state police Troop A to let them know people were stuck. At that point she realized flash floods had washed out roads throughout Oxford, Monroe and Seymour.

It was a waiting game and emergency responders were dealing with a deluge of rain and calls for service.

“We were in communication with the lifeguards who were with us, and (Oxford First Selectman) George Temple was in contact with us,” Borino said.

As time went on concerns grew. Luckily, the water from Lake Zoar did not approach their position. But no one could get to them. Three babies under four months old were in attendance, as was a person with diabetes.

“We were running out of formula, and we had a person with diabetes without insulin,” she said. ​“The adults were OK, but we were getting concerned because of the children and the person with medical needs. It was getting a little dicey.”

At one point Borino said she heard a loud rumbling.

“We looked at Lake Zoar and we saw foam coming up. It looked like sewage in the water. And then we could see debris floating down. There are hiking trails in Jackson Cove, and there’s a little bridge. That bridge ended up in the water, we could see pieces of it,” she said.

At one point Borino said they were told they would be spending the night in the park.

“We hunkered down, thunderstorms rolled in, we were sheltering in our cars,” she said.

Borino said she was in contact with state troopers who told her rescue boats were on their way. The first boat arrived at about 10 p.m. or 10:30 p.m.

“We saw a light on the water, and my husband (Thomas Borino Jr.) went down and made contact with the rescuers,” she said.

Borino estimated there were six rescuers with four boats. At a press conference in Oxford, the rescuers were identified as from the state’s Urban Search and Rescue Team.

The party goers were picked up by boats four to five people at a time. They were taken to Eichler’s Cove in Sandy Hook (Newtown). From there the people were bused to a temporary shelter in Southbury.

Borino said the rescuers immediately put everyone at ease, including the many children.

She said it took about two hours to get everyone across Lake Zoar, which was full of debris.

“The rescuers were phenomenal. They were cool. They were calm. They were collected. They were joking with us, asking if there was any birthday cake left,” she said. ​“I have goosebumps right now talking about it. It was midnight. It was dark. We’re going by flashlight, and the rescuers are signaling to each other to avoid large pieces of debris in the water. They kept their calm, they were good with the kids, I can’t put into words how amazing they were.”

Borino and her family were the last group to leave Jackson Cove. She estimated it was about 12:30 a.m.