BREWER, Maine — The 911 caller said he saw what looked like an oil spill in the Penobscot River near the High Tide restaurant and local firefighters and an ambulance crew responded in force to investigate.
What they found on Friday was pollen and small plant parts coating the water surface from trees recently planted along the waterfront trail.
One firefighter went into the water to check what the floating material was and came out with a handful of yellowish green petals.
The pollen was thick along the river’s edge and swirled into a pattern that spread toward Bangor.
Bangor firefighters also were out along their waterfront.
A man riding his bike over the Joshua Chamberlain Bridge called 911 shortly after 10 a.m. and reported what he thought was an oil spill.
“I just wasn’t sure what it was, so I called,” the man said after learning firefighters found pollen.