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John Patriquin/Staff Photographer
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John Patriquin/Staff PhotographerA powerful late-fall storm that brought high winds and heavy rain to Maine on Tuesday caused one death and knocked out power to tens of thousands of customers, prompting Gov. John Baldacci to declare a state of emergency.
The governor issued an emergency declaration late Tuesday night to expedite efforts to restore power to thousands of households without electricity.
Baldacci's order will allow power crews from other states to come to Maine and facilitates a federal waiver allowing electrical workers to work extended hours.
The storm, which swept into Maine from the Midwest, whipped up wind gusts of up to 60 mph -- close to hurricane force -- and dumped 12 inches of snow in the Franklin county community of Phillips.
"It really is a mixed bag out there," said Lynette Miller, spokeswoman for the Maine Emergency Management Agency, which was monitoring the storm's rapidly changing conditions.
After places like Phillips, Farmington, and Bethel were blanketed with snow, the rain started.
The National Weather Service issued a flood warning for York, Cumberland and Oxford counties as well as for the Presumpscot River in Westbrook.
The Weather Service office in Gray, which lost power Tuesday night, said coastal flooding was another concern as 23-foot waves at sea, combined with a high tide at around 9:50 p.m., could batter seawalls and sand dunes.
But several coastal communities in York County reported no serious flooding late Tuesday.
A number of car accidents were reported throughout the day and evening, including a fatal crash in Poland that police say was caused by slippery roads.
Ronald Herrick, 69, of Poland was killed after the car he was driving skidded into the path of a pickup truck Tuesday morning.
"It had just started turning to rain," Androscoggin County Sheriff's Sgt. James Jacques said. "The roads had some snow. It was like a greasy, slippery mix."
In Lebanon, a large tree fell onto a pickup truck that was travelling along River Road Tuesday afternoon.
Lebanon's Rescue Chief Samantha J. Cole said the truck's cab was partially crushed, causing injuries that were not life threatening to the driver whose name was not available. The road was closed for about 90 minutes.
Several roads in York County had to be closed throughout the day due to downed power lines and broken utility poles, Bob Bohlman, York County's Emergency Management director, said.
East Grand Avenue in Old Orchard Beach had to be shut down for about 30 minutes Tuesday night while firefighters removed a large tree that fell into the road.
A section of Route 112 in Buxton was shut down for the night after a culvert clogged and the road flooded.
Power outages were reported across the state.
The peak outage was reported at 8:56 p.m. About 35,000 customers across southern and western Maine were in the dark as wind blew trees onto power lines. Those numbers had dropped to 28,000 by 10:15 p.m.
Power in some of the hardest hit service areas -- Brunswick, Lewiston, Bridgton and Alfred -- might not be restored until today.
Central Maine Power spokesman John Carroll said that while trees were a problem, "Poor driving conditions have also been a problem, as there have been several reports of motor vehicles hitting CMP poles and disrupting power."
In Portland, strong winds partially dislodged a large window on the eighth floor of the Maine Bank and Trust building. Workers at the Cloutier, Barrett and Duffett law firm were able to remove the window, preventing it from falling onto the street below.
In Freeport, at L.L. Bean's Discovery Park, the company's 45-foot spruce Christmas tree was blown over by high winds. The company just held a tree lighting ceremony on Saturday.
Carolyn Beem, a company spokeswoman, said no one was injured when the tree collapsed around 5 p.m. Bean officials will assess damage to the tree...
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