02/25/2009
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Staff photo by Andy Molloyfrom the Kennebec Journal
BUDGET CUTS ORDERED
Many happy returns in Richmond
Tax woes land on Whitefield
Rapist denied new trial
AUGUSTA MINDING A MINE
SPORT OF KINGS Falconry a blend of dedication and commitment
COLLEGE HOCKEY: Maine rallies but falls short against Boston College
COLLEGE ROUNDUP: Colby women win season opener at home tournament
All of today's:
News | Sports
from the Kennebec Journal
from the Morning Sentinel
WEDDING BURGLAR JAILED
Youths talk Turkey Day
Plenty of free Thanksgiving meals available
Turkey prices make for happier holiday
Kennebec County Superior Court
POLICE
COLLEGE HOCKEY: Maine rallies but falls short against Boston College
COLLEGE ROUNDUP: Colby women win season opener at home tournament
All of today's:
News | Sports
from the Morning Sentinel
With 57,000 of its customers without power statewide at daybreak Tuesday, CMP officials said workers had reconnected power to about 13,000 of them by noon Tuesday.
But CMP President Sara Burns said she anticipated about 30,000 customers would remain without power into today, and that power would not be back on for everyone until Thursday night.
In response to the blackouts, 15 warming shelters -- including one at the Monmouth fire station -- were activated Tuesday to accomodate those without power.
Monmouth Fire Chief Andre Poulin said a few residents had trickled in throughout the morning Tuesday, primarily from a mobile home park.
He said he expected more people to stop in as the day went on.
"A substantial amount of the town is still without power," he said Tuesday. "Some folks were able to make arrangements to stay with family, or they can come in here during the day. But if they still don't have power by tonight, we'll have to help them find a place to stay overnight."
Monmouth Town Manager Curtis Lunt said power crews had been working diligently all day Tuesday, and that residents were contacting the Town Office to report when their power was coming back on.
"I'd say about 10 percent of the town is without power," Lunt said Tuesday afternoon. "That doesn't sound like much, but it does add up fast."
Gov. John Baldacci declared a state of emergency Monday morning to speed up power restoration efforts. The order extends the number of hours that power crews can work to restore electricity.
About 260 line workers from Canada and elsewhere in New England were asked to assist Maine utility companies with restoration efforts.
"We're pleased with the response of Maine's utilities to this major storm," Baldacci said in a news release Tuesday from the Maine Emergency Management Agency. "In the meantime, Mainers are helping each other, as they always do."
On Tuesday morning, Baldacci joined Burns in touring powerless neighborhoods in Brunswick and Bath. He also met with several crews from Massachusetts and Connecticut, and urged Maine residents once again to use caution in dealing with downed lines and portable generators.
Spokesmen for the utilities blamed poor road conditions and the rural locations of many of the outages for slowing restoration efforts.
CMP said it equipped many of its workers with snowshoes and snowmobiles to help them tramp through deep snow to reach lines in need of repair.
At one point, the utility ran out of snowshoes.
"We've had so many people struggling with the snow, we started calling L.L. Bean and Cabela's and Sam's Club to see who had them," CMP spokesman John Carroll said.
At the height of the outages Monday, more than 130,000 customers statewide were without electricity, CMP spokeswoman Gail Rice said. More than a foot of heavy, wet snow that fell Monday -- as much as 20 inches in some places -- was blamed for the widespread power outage.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Meghan V. Malloy -- 623-3811, ext. 431
mmalloy@centralmaine.com
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