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CMP says damage more severe than Ice Storm of '98

BRUNSWICK, Maine (NEWS CENTER) — As power line crews begin to assess the damage — and as hundreds of thousands of Mainers deal with not having electricity — Central Maine Power (CMP) says the damage from Monday morning's wind storm may be more extensive than the legendary Ice Storm of 1998.

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Winds of 60-70 mph tore through parts of Maine, ripping off tree branches and tearing down entire trees, which took out hundreds of power lines. As of Monday afternoon, CMP reported more than 380,000 customers without power.

CMP spokesperson Gail Rice told NEWS CENTER Monday that there won't be any quick fixes.

"We expect this recovery is going to take several days," Rice said. "We won't even have restoration estimates today, concentrating on making things safe. [Tuesday] we hope to be moving forward on assessment and restoration. This has done a lot of damage to the system."

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Rice said the company had been working to restore service to critical locations, such as hospitals, but that many areas were likely to wait several days before power is restored.

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