Updated at 8 a.m. Sunday
Maine’s major electric utilities made significant progress repairing downed power lines after strong winds swept through the state on Saturday. But by Sunday morning thousands remained without power.
As of 8 a.m. Sunday, Versant Power reported 1,552 customer without power, down from 19,861 early Saturday afternoon.
Customers in the Lincoln area, where there was severe damage, should expect to be without power until Monday, the utility said.
Central Maine Power reported 16,853 outages at 8 a.m. Sunday, down from 67,290 early Saturday afternoon.
Central Maine Power spokesperson Jon Breed said restoration efforts were slowed on Saturday because crews can not go up in lifts to repair lines when wind speeds are higher than 30 mph.
Businesses around the state had to contend with sporadic outages on Saturday.
The Bangor Walmart on Stillwater Avenue closed to the public after power went out around 11 a.m. and remained closed into the afternoon.
The Stillwater Chick-fil-a remained closed after power went out around 10 a.m. The Oriental Jade, near the Bangor Mall, said in a morning post to its Facebook page that its power was out.
Fresh Start Sober Living in Bangor posted to its Facebook page that a large tree had come down near its building. A photo showed a large tree that had fallen across Center Street, and it appeared to have crushed a vehicle.
At around 11:35 a.m., the Pittsfield Police Department announced that the Madawaska Road from Main Street to Waverly Street is currently closed. And in Minot, Pottle Hill Road is closed at the Millett Road intersection.
The fire and rescue department in Bridgton also noted that there were numerous trees down in the area, and road closures should be expected.
The National Weather Service issued a wind alert in the afternoon and said many areas of the state would experience gusts of up to 50 mph on Saturday.
Numerous fire departments across the state issued announcements that burn permits were canceled due to the high winds.