Just a handful of Central Maine Power customers in Kennebec County were still without power Friday night following the Wednesday night-Thursday morning storm that dumped about a foot of snow in the region.

Statewide, 9,172 customers were without power late Friday, with the largest totals in York (3,886) and Lincoln (2,552) counties, according to a 4:45 p.m. update posted to the power company’s website. There were no outages reported in Somerset County Friday night, 24 were reported in Franklin County and eight customers were still without power in Kennebec County.

At the peak, more than 100,000 Mainers were without power on Thursday.

According to its website, CMP planned to have everyone in Kennebec County reconnected by later Friday night.

At CMP’s request, Gov. Paul LePage issued a declaration of emergency late Wednesday night that allowed 60 utility crews from Canada to drive longer hours during the night to join the restoration effort during the day on Thursday. Nearly 1,000 CMP employees and contractors worked through Thanksgiving Day to restore power to almost 75,000 homes and business.

Along with the declaration, LePage issued safety tips for those still without power:

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• Never run a generator indoors and be sure it is at least 15 feet from windows or doors.

• If clearing trees or limbs, make sure they are not touching a power line. Trees and branches can conduct electricity.

• Treat all downed power lines as if they are live.

The storm, which started Wednesday afternoon and continued into the early morning hours of Thursday, also led to dozens of accidents in the area.

Looking ahead, while it will stay cold Saturday, with high temperatures reaching only 26 degrees, a warmup is on the way for Sunday and Monday. Temperatures will climb into the 40s and rain is possible both days.

Tuesday, temperatures plunge back to the 20s before returning to the 40s on Wednesday, when rain and possibly snow are forecast.

 


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