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7 Caught Legionnaire's Disease In Lincoln, But It's 'No Longer A Risk'

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7 Caught Legionnaire's Disease In Lincoln, But It's 'No Longer A Risk'


LINCOLN, NH — There is “no longer an elevated risk” of contracting Legionnaire’s disease in Lincoln after seven people became infected by bacteria in a cooling tower in town over the summer, New Hampshire health officials said Wednesday.

Legionnaire’s disease is a bacterial pneumonia caused by inhaling water droplets contaminated with Legionella bacteria, the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services said. Initially, officials said that five diagnoses were made in June and July, but they added Wednesday that two additional cases have since been confirmed. All seven people were exposed to contaminated water droplets from a cooling tower behind the RiverWalk Resort downtown, according to officials.

The cooling tower underwent a cleaning and disinfecting process, after which testing conducted by the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Public Health Services, and the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services confirmed that “remediation efforts to eliminate Legionella bacteria were successful,” officials said.

The cleaning took place on Aug. 12, and water samples were collected for additional testing.

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“Test results, which were received today, confirm the effectiveness of the facility’s cleaning and disinfection process with negative results for Legionella,” officials said Wednesday. “RiverWalk continues to partner with DHHS and NHDES on a water management plan to prevent future contamination or bacterial re-growth.”

The health department said it will investigate any other diagnoses with a potential link to the area.

“The negative test results received today are good news and demonstrate the effectiveness of the cleaning and disinfection of the cooling tower,” Dr. Benjamin Chan, New Hampshire State Epidemiologist, said Wednesday. “Therefore, we do not believe there is currently an elevated risk for Legionella infection from this cooling tower, and we will continue to monitor and work with the facility to ensure an appropriate management plan is in place to prevent future contamination or re-growth of the bacteria.”

Legionella are naturally occurring environmental bacteria that can grow in water systems and infect people who breathe in contaminated water droplets from showers, hot tubs, faucets, cooling towers, misters, and decorative fountains, according to health officials.

People and businesses can prevent waterborne germs from growing in water sources by properly cleaning and maintining all devices that use water, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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2 killed, 1 seriously injured in NH crash

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2 killed, 1 seriously injured in NH crash


Two people are dead and another person has serious injuries following a crash Friday in Rumney, New Hampshire.

The Rumney Fire Department says it responded to Route 25 just after 1:30 p.m. for a motor vehicle crash with entrapment. Crews, including from Plymouth-Fire Rescue and the Wentworth Fire Department, arrived on scene to find two vehicles in the road that appeared to have been involved in a head-on collision.

The driver from one vehicle was taken to a local hospital with serious injuries, the fire department said. The driver and a passenger in the second vehicle were both pronounced dead on scene.

The victims’ names have not been released at this time.

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Route 25 was closed for approximately five hours for an on-scene investigation and clean up, the fire department said.

It’s unclear what caused the fatal crash. The Rumney Police Department is investigating.



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Fireball spotted streaking over towns in southeast New Hampshire: video

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Fireball spotted streaking over towns in southeast New Hampshire: video


An eagle-eyed photographer captured the moment a shining fireball cut across the sky in southeast New Hampshire early Saturday evening.

Rob Wright, a professional photographer based in New Hampshire, shared dash camera footage of the suspected meteor — which he called a “bright green boldie” — blazing straight downwards while he was cruising through Portsmouth.

“That was one of the best I’ve seen and likely the best I’ve ever caught on camera,” Wright boasted on Facebook.

Dash camera footage captured a fireball beaming in the sky on Saturday. Rob Wright/Storyful

Wright was approaching a traffic circle in the coastal town when a pulsing yellow light appeared in the sky. It tracked downwards in a straight line and released a brighter spurt of light before disappearing entirely, all in the span of eight seconds, according to the video.

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Others in Nashua and Londonderry, both located southwest of Portsmouth and closer to the Massachusetts border, told WMUR that they also saw the suspected meteor.

The “bright green boldie” blazed over multiple towns in New Hampshire. Rob Wright/Storyful

Several other highlighted sightings around the same time in Dover, Bedford, Rindge, Hooksett and Jaffrey, which are all within a 90-mile radius of Portsmouth, according to the American Meteor Society.

Locals who follow Wright’s work reported seeing the fireball, too. One woman who also lives in Portsmouth commented that she “thought it must have been a firework.”

It’s unclear what exactly the fireball was.

It’s unclear what exactly the supposed fireball was. Rob Wright/Storyful

Meteorites present similarly to a fireball when they’re plummeting from orbit — but leave a more obvious impact.

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In August, a 3-foot meteor splintered in the air while it was flying over Georgia and left fragments scattered all over Newton County. The explosion caused a sonic boom equivalent to 20 tons of TNT exploding at once.

Pieces of the meteor were found all over the county, including one that crashed through the roof of a home.

Over the summer in 2024, a meteor disintegrated about 30 miles above Midtown Manhattan. The force shook parts of New York City, rattling midday commuters.



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Firefighters battle large blaze at home near NH’s Loon Mountain

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Firefighters battle large blaze at home near NH’s Loon Mountain


Firefighters from multiple northern New Hampshire communities helped battle a blaze at a home near Loon Mountain on Saturday night.

Campton-Thornton Fire Rescue said in a Facebook post Sunday morning that they responded to the fire on Crooked Mountain Road in Lincoln around 7 p.m. Several other area departments also responded and helped shuttle water to the scene from a site in nearby Woodstock.

No one was home at the time and no firefighters were injured battling the blaze. Fire crews cleared the scene around 4 a.m.

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