(NECN: Amy Sinclair, Maine) - The governor of maine signed an emergency declaration today in the wake of a powerful overnight storm that did extensive damage -- and left tens of thousands of people in the dark.
The severity of the storm caught many people by surprise. Wind gusts were in excess of 60 mph, trees were uprooted and limbs were snapped off like toothpicks.
Downed trees and power lines closed roads and many schools across 12 counties. Heavily populated Cumberland County was hardest hit. It will take days of cleanup efforts.
More than 62,000 Central Maine Power customers were left in the dark and 40 utility poles were snapped.
By declaring a limited state of emergency, Maine's governor cleared the way to bring in additional utility crews from out of state and allow Maine's line workers to stay on the job longer.
Mainers are now cranking up generators, adding logs to their wood stoves and waiting for the bucket trucks to roll into their neighborhoods.
CMP says it will be at least 24 hours until they can get to all of their customers.
