Nearly 4,000 Central Maine Power Co. customers were without power Friday evening, mostly in Cumberland and Androscoggin counties, after a front of severe storms rolled through Portland and surrounding communities.
Roughly 1,500 homes and businesses went dark in Cumberland County, and over 1,700 were without power in Androscoggin County, according to the CMP website at 9 p.m.
Justin Arnott, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Gray, said showers were expected to stop Friday night and fog will roll in overnight.
Saturday’s forecast could repeat Friday’s, he said, with more rain and thunder showers possible throughout Saturday afternoon.
“Kind of anywhere is fair game to see a storm or two in the afternoon,” Arnott said.
In Jay, lightning was suspected to have caused a fire that engulfed a garage at 63 Warren Hill Road at about 5:30 p.m., No one was hurt in the blaze and fire crews had the flames under control in about an hour. Jay fire officials were investigating the blaze.
The round of storms Friday followed a downpour Thursday in the Lewiston-Auburn area that caused extensive flooding. In Auburn, the runoff overwhelmed a drain pipe and left a gaping sinkhole on Troy Street.
Auburn Public Service Department Director Dan Goyette said it is one of the larger sinkholes he has seen in the city.
“There’s old infrastructure in the city, so it happens every so often,” he said.
Goyette said the road will be closed until the 2-foot diameter pipe can be replaced next week.
The Sun Journal contributed material to this report.
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