A section of the parking lot at the Family Dollar store at 6 Main St. in Skowhegan is washed out Saturday, a day after a storm brought heavy rain and flooding to the region and much of Maine. Michael G. Seamans/Morning Sentinel
Electricity was restored to nearly everyone in Kennebec County by Christmas Day, following a destructive weekend storm that brought heavy rain and wind gusts that left about 300,000 customers in the dark across the state.
“Most towns are reporting damage to roads, trees, to pretty much anything that wasn’t nailed down, and then some,” Art True, director of Kennebec County Emergency Management Agency, said Saturday morning, adding there were a few road closures, but nothing major.
Utility crews in trucks were out all weekend throughout central Maine, removing trees that had fallen onto power lines and making repairs.
As of late Monday afternoon, the number of outages in Central Maine Power Co.’s coverage area, which includes a total of 667,621 customers in Maine, was down to 7,313, according to the company’s outage reporting website.
Lincoln County had the most remaining outages as of Monday afternoon, with 1,441, including 287 in Bremen, 89 in Waldoboro, 59 in Jefferson and two in Dresden.
Kennebec County had only three outages reported on CMP’s website by Monday afternoon, while Somerset County was down to 27 and Franklin County was at 37.
A large oak tree knocked out power Friday night to residents on Edgemont Street in Waterville as a storm brought heavy rain and wind gusts. About 300,000 Central Maine Power Co. customers lost power during the storm. Michael G. Seamans/Morning Sentinel
A notice posted Monday on CMP’s website indicated company officials expected most customers in the Augusta, Dover, Farmington, Lewiston, Rockland and Skowhegan service areas to have power restored by the end of Monday, and the vast majority of customers in the hard-hit Alfred, Bridgton and Brunswick areas should be restored by late Tuesday.
The CMP website reported the company had about 2,500 field workers restoring power.
The Monmouth Fire Department reported on its Facebook page that many roads had been closed in the community due to storm damage, although it appeared most had reopened as of Monday.
In Skowhegan, a section of parking lot for the Family Dollar store off Main Street had been washed away by flooding, said police Chief David Bucknam. As of Monday afternoon, that appeared to be the worst of the damage in the Somerset County town that straddles the Kennebec River.
Mike Smith, director of the Somerset County Emergency Management Agency, said there was no major damage going back to Friday night. Crews were quick to remove trees downed by heavy winds, he said.
“It’s been a positive experience in a negative event,” Smith said.
Line workers with Central Maine Power Co. and arborists with Asplundh Tree Expert Co. remove a tree from the power lines and restore electricity Saturday to residents on Edgemont Street in Waterville. A large oak tree toppled over onto power lines, leaving the street without electricity. Michael G. Seamans/Morning Sentinel
Some communities reported flooding and downed trees and power lines, forcing road closures, including Augusta Road in Winslow and Edgemont Avenue in Waterville, although both roads were cleared and reopened by Monday.
In Waterville, the area of 89-95 Webb Road is expected to remain closed while the Maine the Department of Transportation repairs a sinkhole, according to police Sgt. Joshua Woods.
About 8,100 customers in Kennebec County remained without electricity by noontime on Saturday, while about 300,000 lost power statewide because of the storm, according to CMP. By Sunday, about 31,000 customers were still without power, mostly in York and Cumberland counties.
True said anyone without electricity and without a wood stove or other nonelectrical way to produce heat should consider staying with family members or friends until power was restored. He warned against heating dwellings with any device not intended for that purpose.
“Be cautious, stay safe. Power is coming back,” True said.
Outages were scattered Saturday across Somerset County, but the vast majority of customers had power back by Monday. As of midafternoon Monday, CMP reported only 27 outages in the county.
Smith said CMP responded diligently to power outages, and when officials in Somerset County identified critical situations, the utility was quick to respond. Northern Light Sebasticook Valley Hospital in Pittsfield, for example, lost power Friday evening and was relying on backup generators. He said he alerted CMP, which had power restored to the hospital in about 30 minutes.
Morning Sentinel Staff Reporter Kaitlyn Budion contributed to this report.
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