Sunshine helped illuminate the wreckage left by an ice storm that knocked out power from Maine to Pennsylvania on Friday, but it did little to warm those preparing for a weekend without heat or electricity.
The storm started Thursday night and continued into Friday, bringing rain, freezing rain, sleet and snow that hampered travel, closed schools and left 1.25 million homes and businesses without power in seven states. Though blue skies appeared in some areas by Friday afternoon, temperatures were expected to fall below freezing again with single digits forecast for Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire on Saturday night.
At least one death was related to the storm: New Hampshire officials said a 49-year-old Danville man who lived in a camper died of carbon monoxide poisoning after turning on his portable generator when his power went out Thursday night. In Maine, two people were taken to Maine Medical Center in Portland after being overcome by fumes from a portable generator in their basement.
For New Hampshire, the power outages dwarfed those during the infamous Ice Storm of ’98, when some residents spent more than a week in the dark. Nearly two dozen shelters were set up across the southern part of the state, and authorities were working to get generators to several nursing homes. About 35 people, mostly elderly, were at a shelter at Portsmouth High School by early evening.
New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch urged residents to “please go out of your way” to check on neighbors, especially those who are elderly and live alone.
Both Lynch and Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick declared states of emergency Friday morning and called up members of the National Guard. Five hundred Massachusetts Guard members were cleaning up debris and clearing access to downed power lines. Lynch put 150 on alert and deployed 20.
Utilities reported more than 400,000 homes and businesses without power in New Hampshire, including 320,000 served by the state’s largest utility, Public Service Co. of New Hampshire. By contrast, the 1998 storm left 55,000 Public Service customers without power.
“This is the absolute, most significant power restoration effort we’ve ever had. There has not been a storm before that has affected more customers,” Public Service spokesman Martin Murray said.
Because other New England utilities are in the same situation, Public Service had to reach as far away as Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio and into Canada for extra line crews.
Crews from Canada and South Carolina were headed to Maine, where Gov. John Baldacci declared a limited emergency allowing utility crews to work longer hours. Central Maine Power Co. said more than 215,000 customers were in the dark as of late Friday morning, mostly in southern and coastal areas. Bangor Hydro-Electric Co. reported more than 12,000 outages at one point, but had reduced that number to about 4,500 by 5 p.m.
Some Maine residents were having difficulty finding gasoline for their vehicles and generators because fuel pumps were shut down and because of a short-term shortage caused when the storm knocked out electricity to the South Portland terminal. Emergency generators were en route to the terminal.
“This is pathetic,” said Bob Cott in Portland, who lost power for the first time in 10 years. “I’m already sick of winter, and we have nine days to go before it officially begins.”
The ice storm extended to Pennsylvania, where about 4,700 customers, most of them in the Poconos, lost power, and Connecticut, where some 17,000 customers were without electricity at the height of the storm. Those states mostly got heavy rain or rain changing to snow.
In eastern New York, particularly around Albany, the state capital, outages at National Grid and other utilities brought the statewide total to more than 255,000.
The first substantial storm of the year in the Bangor area dumped a thick layer of heavy ice and wet snow Friday morning that closed schools, ripped down trees and utility lines, and knocked out power to thousands.
Calais and Ellsworth received 1 inch of ice, according to the National Weather Service, while Guilford and Topsfield received 0.75 inch. In Charleston, one-half inch of ice was reported. Millinocket received 3 inches of snow.
By late Friday afternoon the sun was out in central Maine and power had been restored to many, but in southern and midcoast parts of the state nearly a half-million residents were without power, according to the governor’s office.
“It’s still very serious in southern Maine,” David Farmer, spokesman for Gov. Baldacci, said about 4 p.m. Friday. “CMP is reporting they have about 219,000 meters without power. That translates to more than 400,000” residents.
About 70 percent of York County and nearly 50 percent of the city of Portland were without power, he said.
“They expect this to be a multiday, perhaps a week, power outage,” Farmer said.
De-energizing downed wires to protect the public is the first objective and after that work will begin on restoring power, CMP spokesman John Carroll said in a press release.
“We do not expect to be able to start any restoration work before Saturday,” he said. “By our best estimate right now, this restoration is likely to last well into next week in many areas.”
Customers “should prepare for several days or more without power,” Carroll said.
CMP contacted utilities as far away as Michigan for assistance. Utilities in the Canadian Maritimes also have been contacted, but those companies were unable to release their crews because the storm had yet to pass through their region Friday afternoon.
The company also was coordinating its efforts with the Maine Emergency Management Agency, local emergency management agencies, and the Maine Department of Transportation.
“The key is to make sure the people have alternatives, to make sure they have a place to go and stay warm,” Farmer said.
MEMA on Friday opened 19 emergency shelters, all in southern Maine, spokeswoman Lynette Miller said.
“The big push right now is to set up emergency shelters,” she said, adding that the safety of residents supersedes restoring power.
MEMA directors originally considered opening a shelter in eastern Maine or to the north, but the need to focus on southern Maine became quickly apparent as the sun lit up the sky in Bangor at around 3 p.m., said Michelle Tanguay, Penobscot County EMA deputy director.
“Penobscot County has been lucky,” she said late Friday afternoon. “We have a little over 5,000 people without power. We didn’t get as much as we expected to. The coast took a lot of that brunt.”
At one point more than 12,000 Bangor Hydro-Electric Co. customers were without power, mostly in Penobscot and Piscataquis counties, and scattered numbers in Hancock and Washington counties.
“Bangor Hydro expects to have service restored to customers throughout Washington and Hancock counties” on Friday night, Tanguay said. “Customers in Penobscot and Piscataquis counties can expect to have service restored by Saturday night.”
Lincoln-Katahdin areas
The most common problem within northern Penobscot County, which includes the Katahdin and Lincoln Lakes regions, was high winds and ice buildup pushing tree limbs into utility lines or short-circuiting transformers, said dispatchers at the Penobscot Regional Communications Center in Bangor.
Those problems were numerous. By 2 p.m., dispatchers had handled more than 300 calls for service since midnight Thursday, including 64 calls countywide for utility problems and 75 calls for utility wires down, dispatchers said. Of those calls, about 20 reported motor vehicle accidents, all minor.
On a typical 24-hour day, communications center dispatchers handle about 350 calls. They share 911 emergency calls with state police for Penobscot County except the University of Maine and Bangor.
Katahdin and Lincoln Lakes region motorists stayed off the roads or drove with considerable restraint, police and firefighters said. Several minor but no major accidents were reported, just vehicles sliding off roads. Millinocket and Lincoln firefighters reported that they had no accidents reported.
“I think everybody paid attention and drove really slow this morning,” East Millinocket Police Chief Garold “Twig” Cramp said Friday, “because it [the storm] was really well-publicized.”
“The storm had the potential of doing a lot more damage if the temperature had stayed down for longer,” said Lincoln Fire Chief Phil Dawson, who is also Howland’s volunteer fire chief. “It was just a stroke of luck that the temperature didn’t stay lower and ice didn’t build up on the trees and roads more.”
Dawson had four emergency shelters set up in Lincoln and two in Howland that, as of 4 p.m., were not used — a tribute, Dawson said, to utility crews’ quick response to outages.
Camden-Rockland area
CMP reported that 12,700 customers in the Camden and Rockland area were without power until midday Friday and predicted that the number likely would go down to 12,000 by the end of the day.
“It’s going to be a long haul,” said Gail Rice, spokesman for CMP, explaining that restoration of lines would go into next week.
The Knox County Emergency Management office Friday reported outages in Warren, the Route 105 corridor in North Hope, and Washington.
No outages were reported in Rockland or Union, according to the EMA office.
Power was out in parts of Camden in the early morning, but the lights came on again by 9 a.m.
Aroostook County
Although snow and ice were predominant in Aroostook County on Friday, there were few accidents or problems related to the storm.
Maine Public Service customers in Caribou lost power for approximately one hour, and residents of New Sweden also lost power for a short time during the day.
By Friday afternoon, the National Weather Service office in Caribou had lifted all warnings it had posted about severe weather in the area.
Rich Norton, a meteorologist with the weather service in Caribou, said the storm had pretty much moved out of the area by 3 p.m. Friday.
In St. Agatha, residents were shoveling driveways after 5 inches of snow fell Friday. Portage received 4½ inches of snow, while Caribou received 4.1 inches and Madawaska received 3½ inches.
Despite the sloppy weather, few accidents were reported in Aroostook County.
“We have had maybe two cars off the road in the whole county, and there was no damage to the vehicles,” state police Sgt. Julie Bergan said Friday. “People are staying home.”
Norton said that another weather system was expected to move through the area on Sunday night into Monday, bringing some snow before turning to rain.
Patience urged
State agencies and businesses working together and being prepared for this storm are what helped to keep things moving smoothly on Friday during the storm, Farmer said.
“The key is we were prepared,” he said.
Maine forest rangers from the Department of Conservation and Department of Transportation crews worked hand in hand with crews from CMP, Bangor Hydro and other companies to remove fallen limbs and will continue until residents are back in their homes, Farmer said.
“It’s going to require people to be patient as we move forward to get the power restored,” he said.
With the power outage, officials are asking Mainers to watch out for each other.
“We’re asking that people check in on their neighbors to make sure they’re OK,” Farmer said, adding older residents are often more vulnerable.
Both CMP and Bangor Hydro officials are urging residents to use caution around downed lines.
“Everyone should stay clear of any downed power lines and fallen trees or limbs that may be tangled in the lines,” said Carroll. “These should all be considered live and dangerous.
“Customers should leave the cleanup to our crews, who are trained and equipped to handle these situations safely,” he said. “I know we say this over and over, but it’s a simple lesson that could save someone’s life.”
CMP also reminds customer who have generators that they must be installed with the correct protective devices to prevent power from feeding back onto the utility’s wires.
“This creates an extreme risk to utility workers, emergency personnel and the public,” a press release stated.
Those using alternative heat sources, such as propane and kerosene heaters, should take extra precautions and follow all manufacturer rules, Joe Rose, Propane Gas Association of New England president, stressed Friday.
Basic precautions include never placing propane cylinders indoors or in an enclosed area such as a basement, garage or shed or using outdoor propane appliances indoors or in enclosed areas.
Never use outdoor portable heaters, barbecue grills or portable generators inside, or use a gas oven or range-top burners to provide space heating.
“Carbon monoxide produced by improperly operating a generator or using an outdoor appliance inside your home can be deadly,” Rose stated in a press release.
The icy conditions caused a number of vehicles to slide off the roads in the Bangor area police said, but all were considered minor.
Bangor Daily News writers Nok-Noi Ricker in Bangor, Nick Sambides in Millinocket, George Chappell in Rockland and Jen Lynds in Houlton and The Associated Press contributed to this report.