Maine Snow: Election Day Underway With Thousands Still in the Dark; Death Confirmed in Trescott

Associated Press
Published: November 4,2014


 
Utility crews continued to restore power across Maine Tuesday, two days after a wicked fall snowstorm knocked out electricity to a bulk of customers along the state's mid-coast.
While the number of customers without power dropped below 50,000 by evening, the outages forced election officials to make alternative plans for several polling places for Tuesday's midterm election.
There was also one death attributed to the snowstorm. Troopers say a Lubec woman died when her pickup truck went off the road and overturned in the Washington County town of Trescott. They said 28-year-old Danielle Moores lost control of her pickup truck about 6:30 p.m. Sunday during the heavy snow from the weekend storm. The truck came to rest on its roof in a bog. Moores died at the scene.
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Gov. Paul LePage issued an emergency proclamation allowing utility crews to stay on the road for longer hours to help repair lines and restore power.
"Our first concern is to get power back on for Mainers. Please stay safe and keep off the roads to allow utility crews to do their work," the governor said. LePage also allowed utility workers to vote remotely Tuesday if they were too busy restoring power to return to their hometown for voting, the Bangor Daily News reported.
The storm packed gusts of 50 mph across much of Maine. According to unofficial observations reported to the National Weather Service, Cary in eastern Maine got the most snow, with 21 inches. Orrington got 17, Hampden recorded 15.5 inches and Bangor got more than a foot.
“The heavy snow and strong winds knocked out power to more than 80 percent of the homes and businesses in some counties along the mid-coast,” Central Maine Power spokeswoman Gail Rice told the Portland Press Herald. “The severity of the damage and icy roads are adding to the difficulties facing crews in those areas.”
The Coast Guard suspended the search Sunday for two fishermen whose vessel was believed to have sunk the day before. One fisherman was plucked from the ocean, but two others were aboard the boat.
Snow began to fall in the area around 8 a.m. Sunday and quickly added up in parts of central and northern Maine. Dozens of cars slid off roads, keeping police busy.
CentralMaine.com reported that a steady spate of emergency calls from roadways had been coming in since Sunday morning.