450,000 Mainers without power in worst outages since '98 ice storm

Photo / Peter Van Allen A powerful storm knocked out power to at least 450,000 Mainers. On West Elm Street in Yarmouth, a BMW was damaged by a fallen tree. Elsewhere in Yarmouth, a fallen tree blocked East Main Street and knocked down power lines. At North Yarmouth Academy in Yarmouth, fallen trees dotted the campus.

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By Staff

More than 450,000 Mainers are without power Monday morning due to a storm accompanied by gusts of more than 60 mph and heavy rain that prompted flash flood warnings for some parts of the state.

WABI 5 reported that Central Maine Power’s 368,000 reported power outages exceeded the 340,000 outages experienced during the height of the 1998 ice storm. Central and Southern Maine are the hardest hit areas among its service region.

As of 10 a.m., Central Maine Power reported more than 368,000 customers were without power while Emera Maine reported that more than 75,000 of its customers were without power. Both outage numbers had climbed from earlier reports this morning, particularly for Emera Maine, as strong winds and driving rains advanced northward across the state.

Restoration estimates for specific areas are not expected to be available Monday. CMP expects recovery from this storm to take several days.

CMP secured additional line and tree crews from contractors before the storm reached Maine.

“The region is still experiencing strong winds, which create dangerous conditions for service restoration,” Gail Rice, CMP spokesperson, said in a news release. “Our first priority is public safety, and crews are busy grounding and de-energizing downed lines so they don’t pose a danger to first responders or the public. This critical step needs to be completed before restoration can begin.”

BIW cancels first shift

The Bangor Daily News reported that Bath Iron Works canceled its first shift at all facilities Monday, including the main shipyard in Bath. Downed trees and power lines were reported in Bath and Brunswick and Bath police urged people to stay off the roads to enable public works crews to remove trees and CMP crews to repair the downed lines lines.

Amtrak’s Downeaster rail service canceled several of its trains this morning because of downed trees and power outages, the newspaper reported.

Portland International Jetport reported on its website that several early morning departures were cancelled or delayed. Later flights, according to the website, were reported as being on time. Bangor International Airport also reported some flights as cancelled or delayed due to the storm.

Many schools were closed throughout the state.

In Yarmouth, a backup generator allowed Hannaford to open its doors. The power allowed for customer checkout but was not enough to run freezers and refrigerated cases. Workers could be seen wheeling cartloads of meat and fish from store displays to larger refrigerated areas in back. As one employee said, “we have enough power to run some things but not everything.”

The Maine Emergency Management Agency’s “Maine Prepares” website reported a flash flood watch for the following areas: Androscoggin, Central Somerset, Coastal Cumberland, Coastal Waldo, Coastal York, Interior Cumberland, Interior Waldo, Interior York, Kennebec, Knox, Lincoln, Northern Franklin, Northern Oxford, Sagadahoc, Southern Franklin, Southern Oxford, Southern Somerset.

High wind advisories were posted for much of the state.