WINDHAM, Maine — Thousands of Central Maine Power customers in the Lakes Region are facing another night in the dark. As of 5:30 p.m. Friday, 6,361 were without power in Windham, representing more than half the town.
Surrounding communities including Raymond, Casco, and Sebago were also hit hard with outages from this week's nor'easter.
In response, officials opened warming centers throughout Maine to ease the stress and inconvenience until the lights finally come back on.
At the warming center at Windham High School Friday, Keri Karsten said she can't get the image out of her mind of a tree that came crashing down on her vehicle during heavy snow and strong winds.
"The top of it landed on my car," she recalled. "Thankfully, there was no permanent damage."
Karsten, along with others who lost power, trickled into the warming center. She and fraternal twins Morgan and Monica Farley made a beeline for the showers in the school's locker room. The high school juniors said their family's home lost power before dawn Thursday morning. The outage also shut down their electric well pump.
"We haven't had any refrigeration, anything like that. No bathroom, no plumbing," Morgan Farley said.
Others, from business owners to students, hooked up their devices at several charging stations The center, manned by members of the Windham Fire Department and Windham Police Department, passed out drinking water and offered encouragement.
"Their houses are pretty chilly, you know, in the 50s is what they have been saying, so this helps," Nancy Graves, the fire/rescue office coordinator with the Windham Fire Department, said.
CMP crews were busy repairing lines throughout the Lakes Region, including at the corner of Gore and Webb Mills Roads in Raymond. Repairs can't come fast enough for families like Amy Currier and her son Owen, who have been without power and water since early Thursday and came to Windham High.
"It's a warm shower to get you through your day, at least," Amy sighed with a smile.
"It was refreshing and relaxing," Owen quipped.
Amid the stress and frustration, there is gratitude.
"Our whole neighborhood and everyone around us is out of power, so it's difficult for everyone," Morgan Farley said.
The warming center at Windham High will be open until 7 p.m. Friday. People said it may be their last chance for a hot shower for a while, as CMP estimated full power restoration may not happen until early next week.