Rescue boats take to streets of Saugus

SAUGUS -- Water rescues aren't common in town, even with the Saugus River rolling past homes and businesses and then sneaking underground before reaching the sea.

But on Monday, when flood waters reached as deep as 5 feet along Elm, Saville, and Hawkes streets, some residents had no choice but to flee in motorboats piloted by Saugus public safety workers. It's probably the first time since the Blizzard of 1978 that a Saugus neighborhood has seen such a dramatic rescue, an official said.

''I'm sure we did the same thing back then," said Saugus Police Lieutenant Mike Annese, a 32-year department veteran. ''But we had no other way to get people out this time. Our side streets really got hammered."

A swelled Saugus River and an overflowing Hawke's Pond off Route 1 made for a soggy Saugus. In addition to the forced evacuation of some 100 residents, including many from a mobile home park on Hawkes Street, other residents left voluntarily.

''We've had hundreds of homes flooded," said Town Manager Andrew Bisignani. ''When the water is halfway up your garage door, you have no choice but to leave."

Some escaped to emergency shelters at Saugus High School and the American Legion Hall. Others were taken to Peabody Veterans Memorial High School, where the state set up a regional shelter for area residents displaced by the four-day storm.

And it wasn't just residents who felt the wrath of Mother Nature on Mother's Day.

Prince Pizzeria & Bar, a Route 1 landmark, closed Sunday at 8 p.m. after water slowly filled its parking lot.

Route 1 was closed in both directions after the Saugus River, which runs under the highway near Lynn Fells Parkway, spilled onto its six lanes.

''We tried as best we could to just keep cooking those pizzas," said Tricia Castraberti, wife of Prince owner Steve Castraberti. ''But after the water took over our parking lot, we had to close."

A couple of inches of rainwater covered the floor of the restaurant's comedy club and main dining room but spared the kitchen.

On Tuesday, the Castrabertis, friends, and loyal workers filled sandbags, hoping to keep more water out for a planned reopening yesterday.

''My father-in-law started out here in 1961," Tricia Castraberti said of the Prince's founder, Arthur Castraberti. ''We've had water in the parking lot before, but never the restaurant. This was a first."

Kathy McCabe can be reached at kmccabe@globe.com.