(Bloomberg News) -- With the bridges out in Pittsfield, Vermont, and its 400 residents marooned, Wall Street trader Scott Redler took matters into his own hands: He hired a helicopter and was back home in New Jersey yesterday afternoon.
Redler's family were weekend wedding guests when Hurricane Irene's heavy rains pushed the Tweed River over its banks, smashing at least 20 homes. With his 65-year-old mother running out of medicine, Redler, T3Live.com's chief strategist, found a pilot charging $7,000 for the rescue.
"I wasn't going to wait for the state or federal government," Redler, 38, said yesterday from his mobile phone as he waited for the chopper. "I can't trust them, because I know I'm not a priority."
Three days after Hurricane Irene's remnants inundated the Northeast, rescuers and residents continue to battle high water in New York, New Jersey and Vermont, which suffered its worst flooding in 75 years.
During a visit yesterday to North Carolina, where the hurricane made landfall, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said she spoke to Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin.
"We'll work with the people of Vermont to get them back on their feet," she said during a news conference in Manteo.
More than 200 roads were closed, isolating Chester, Rochester, Wilmington, Mendon, Killington, Cavendish, Ludlow, Middletown Springs, Granville, Stratton, Pittsfield as well as portions of Stockbridge, according to Shumlin's office.
Deadly Passage
There were three deaths and the search was on yesterday for a missing person in Rutland, according to Susan Allen, Shumlin's spokeswoman. There were no damage estimates, she said.
Shumlin, a Democrat, told MSNBC yesterday that he was pleased with the Federal Emergency Management Agency's response.