MAINE, Maine — This week of winter weather continues with strong winds and heavy rain expected to sweep across Maine Wednesday evening into Thursday.
With wind gusts expected to reach upwards of 60 miles per hour along the coast, Maine's top power companies are preparing to respond to widespread outages.
"We expect the coast will get hit the hardest, but the inland areas will also get hit, and we expect damages throughout our entire service territory," Versant Power's communication supervisor, Marissa Minor, said. "We definitely want all of our customers to be prepared over the next day or so. Please make sure you have water, food, charge your cell phones, and make sure you know where your flashlights are in case the power does go out in your home."
Minor said Versant will have more than 175 crews ready to respond to downed trees or power lines. She said crews will prioritize responding to damage that blocks roadways or threatens public safety or emergency responses. Then the company will assess damage across its coverage area.
"It's important to know that the ground is not completely frozen right now, and with the higher temperatures and rain coming in, trees are more susceptible to falling down with the winds," she explained. "We anticipate a lot of trees, a lot of branches are going to come down onto lines and bring lines down."
Minor also wanted to remind customers to report power outages directly to Versant and only call 911 if it's an emergency,
Central Maine Power's meteorologists continue to monitor the storm, according to communications manager Dustin Wlodkowski. Crews will be pre-staged Wednesday in areas they expect to be hit the hardest.
Wlodkowski is reminding Mainers to never touch a downed power line and to give power crews plenty of space to work and be cautious of potential flooded roadways.
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Like other winter storms, power companies want customers to prepare now in case they lose power. Make sure to charge phones and electronics, test your generators, and be sure to have plenty of food and water.
If you do lose power on Wednesday, remember that bucket trucks can't be used to restore power if wind gusts exceed 30 mph, so that could impact restoration times. You can track the latest outage reports on the Versant and CMP websites.