Latest on storm recovery in Maine | Red Cross operating 2 emergency shelters
Warming shelters have been set up at multiple locations across the state, as threats of flood, road closures, and outages persist.
A powerful storm that brought high winds and heavy rains Monday left tens of thousands of Mainers in the dark, with outages still widespread Thursday.
Outage reports from the Pine Tree State's utility providers skyrocketed past 300,000 by 1 p.m. Monday and continued climbing. By 4 p.m., the number of outages neared 400,000 statewide.
As of 2:45 p.m. Friday, more than 35,000 customers were still without power, and restoration efforts were expected to stretch into the weekend.
Emergency Shelters
The American Red Cross has set up emergency shelters in Augusta and Rumford.
The Augusta shelter is located at the Augusta Civic Center (76 Community Dr., Augusta) to provide safe shelter for area residents who have been evacuated due to flooding. The shelter has the capacity to provide overnight care and comfort for 24 adults and two pets, according to a release from the Red Cross.
The Rumford shelter is located at Mountain Valley High School (799 Hancock St., Rumford). The shelter has the capacity to provide overnight care and comfort for eight adults, six children, and three pets, the release stated.
The Red Cross said people seeking additional help related to this storm can call 1-800-RED CROSS.
Warming Centers
Communities across Maine have opened warming centers as towns and cities continue to recover. Some may provide limited food, showers, charging stations, and places to rest. Click here for a full list from the Maine Emergency Management Agency.
Closings
Many schools and businesses that closed Monday stayed closed or posted delays late into the week. Some of those closures and delays have even lasted into Thursday. Check out the full listing of closings, cancellations, and delays here.
Here are the numbers
As of 2:45 p.m. Friday, Versant reported about 11,300 customers without power.
Central Maine Power outages began to skyrocket before noon Monday and steadily climbed into Tuesday. As of 2:45 p.m. Friday, about 24,000 customers were reported to still be without power.
Eastern Maine Electric Cooperative, which serves northern Washington County and eastern Aroostook County, reported about 500 outages as of 2:45 p.m. Friday.
Updates on restorations
CMP spokesperson Jon Breed said Monday the utility company prepared days in advance and was able to secure about 400 more crews from Canada and Rhode Island to help in Maine. But until the winds died down below 30 mph, buckets couldn't go up.
In an email update Tuesday morning, Breed said the total number of impacted customers reached 397,000 at its peak, but more than 65,000 restorations were able to happen Monday into Tuesday.
Breed also cited three "near misses" involving falling trees and crews and said they responded to more than 1,500 calls from local emergency management agencies involving downed lines, people trapped in cars and homes, and trees blocking roads, "including two school buses with students inside." No injuries were reported, Breed said.
"One contractor was sent to the hospital [but] has since been released and is well," the release stated Tuesday morning.
“In my 35 years working for Central Maine Power, the damage some Maine communities sustained is on a scale I’ve never seen,” CMP President Joe Purington said Thursday in a news release.
Versant spokesperson Marissa Minor told NEWS CENTER Maine on Monday they were expecting outages to potentially last through the week. Versant said they had 60 additional crews from New England helping out.
An update from the company shared at 4 a.m. Tuesday stated that this was expected to be a multiday restoration.
"A full complement of line workers and tree crews are out today assessing the damage and making the repairs following yesterday's damaging wind and rain storm," the restoration page stated in an alert.
Both CMP and Versant shared updates Monday evening, noting it was unsafe for their workers to go up in buckets to work on restorations until winds subsided.
Gov. Janet Mills held a press conference Wednesday, sharing updates on restoration efforts and urged the public to continue exercising extreme caution as damage to roads and flooding risks persisted.
Watch the full press conference here:
Why so many outages?
The conditions leading up to the storm spelled a recipe for disaster for trees and powerlines.
Warm air has thawed much of the ground, melting snowpack and loosening soil, leading to compromised root systems and creating is a perfect setup for them to topple over in high wind gusts.
The snow melt and heavy rains also led to rapid rise in flooding inland and along the coast, with particular concern for low-lying areas and roads adjacent to rivers and streams. Beaches were pounded with waves 15 feet or higher, and some adjacent shore and ocean roads will need to be closed, perhaps not reopening until sand, stones, and seaweed can be removed.
Road closures have been a common sight, as downed limbs, utility lines, high water, and flood damage made transit dangerous in some places and impossible in others.
Storm-related fatalities
Falling debris from trees fatally injured two people Monday, and one of two people who went missing Monday after the vehicle they were in was swept away was found dead.
A Windham man who was working to clear debris off his roof during the windstorm died Monday when a piece of a tree broke off and hit him, "killing him immediately," police said.
Several hours later, another man in Somerset County in was fatally injured while attempting to clear a downed tree with a tractor. Fairfield police and Fairfield-Benton Emergency Services responded to a call at about 3:30 p.m. on Norridgewock Road, Fairfield police spokesperson Officer Casey Dugas said Monday night in a news release. The man, whose name is not being released pending notification of relatives, was struck by the tree and died.
Two people were found dead after the vehicle they were traveling in was swept away by floodwaters Monday evening off Route 2 in Mexico.
Four people were inside the vehicle while they were about to cross over the Red Bridge into Rumford. However, while the driver reportedly was trying to turn around, the "vehicle got swept into rising flood waters of the Swift River" just before 5 p.m., Maine Department of Public Safety spokesperson Shannon Moss said Tuesday in a news release.
Two people were able to get to safety, but two others were missing until one was found dead with the vehicle on Wednesday, Mexico town manager Raquel Welch-Day told NEWS CENTER Maine. The second person was found dead Thursday, according to the Mexico police chief.
RELATED: Body of second person missing after truck was swept away by Oxford County river has been recovered
Road conditions, floods
Road conditions started out poor Monday and continued to worsen into the evening, with massive washouts and flooding that led to widespread closures in central and western Maine.
The U.S. Geological Survey said in a report that preliminary data suggest the ongoing flooding across Maine is "likely the second worst in the state's recorded history."
The USGS said ongoing efforts would continue in an effort to assess the extent of the flooding and provide timely reporting to emergency management services to protect people and properties.
Emergency evacuations were in progress in Cumberland County Wednesday morning due to Crooked River flooding.
Multiple cities and towns located along the Androscoggin River also posted evacuation notices on Tuesday as floodwaters continued to rise.
The city of Lewiston issued a flood evacuation order for low-lying parts of the community located near the river.
The city asked that people evacuate no later than 5 p.m. Tuesday until noon Wednesday.
The city shared an update around 4 p.m. Wednesday, noting that even though the evacuation was lifted, several streets would remain closed due to water levels. By Thursday morning, they said all roads had reopened but urged caution in case drivers spotted lingering floodwaters.
After emergency officials in Franklin County warned people in the Farmington area Monday night against traveling for the time being due to flooding, the Farmington Fire Department said in an update Tuesday night that the only remaining major road closures affecting Farmington were Farmington Falls Road (US Route 2) and Route 156 in Farmington Falls at the bridge that crosses the Sandy River.
Civil emergency
Gov. Janet Mills has declared a state of civil emergency for Maine following heavy storm damages felt across the state on Monday, leaving hundreds of thousands of Mainers without power and restoration efforts expected across the next several days.
In a news release Tuesday, the governor's office announced the emergency order was declared for Androscoggin, Aroostook, Franklin, Hancock, Kennebec, Knox, Lincoln, Oxford, Penobscot, Piscataquis, Sagadahoc, Somerset, Waldo, and Washington Counties.
The order will allow the state "resources to assist and support response and recovery efforts and positions the State to seek Federal disaster support in the coming weeks," and aims to provide aid to the hardest-hit counties.
Mills said if assessed infrastructure damage exceeds the state's threshold to respond, the governor will reportedly seek a federal disaster declaration.
"My Administration has been in close and constant communication with local and Federal officials throughout this storm, and I have been briefed by the Director of the Maine Emergency Management Agency as well as the Commissioners of the Department of Transportation, the Department of Public Safety, the Department of Administrative and Financial Services, and others on our coordinated response efforts," Mills said in the release.
In a briefing on Wednesday, the governor also stated that she intended to sign a proclamation that would permit fuel delivery personnel to drive additional hours to "ensure the timely delivery of heating fuel."
"I understand how frustrating the situation can be and how tempting it is to get back onto the road and continue life as normal. But, please, do not tempt fate," Mills reiterated during the presser. "Going near downed power lines can be fatal. And driving through flooded roads can be very dangerous."
You can watch the full report here:
This story is developing and will be updated often, as information becomes available.
The latest forecasts
Here's what you see
Thanks to all NEWS CENTER Maine viewers who have been sending in videos and images of the storm. Here's a roundup of what you're seeing.
