Storm damage tops $20M Estimates in for 11 counties; Mainers glad to see sunshine

PORTLAND – Preliminary damage estimates for public roads, bridges and other infrastructure reached nearly $22 million on Thursday as teams assessed the destruction and residents welcomed the return of the sun after a deadly nor’easter.

The estimate is based on early reports from 11 of the 13 counties for which the governor is seeking a disaster declaration and does not include damage to private homes and property, said Lynette Miller of the Maine Emergency Management Agency.

As the sun came out, the state was shifting into recovery mode even as utility crews worked to restore electricity for thousands of Mainers in the dark for a fourth day.

“For many people that means coming back to their homes and starting to clean up, and towns starting to patch roads and get them open,” Miller said. “These are the first steps of the short-term recovery in what will be a long-term recovery.”

This week’s heavy rains, high winds and coastal flooding washed out roads, flooded basements and forced hundreds of people from their homes across much of Maine. The storm was blamed for three deaths, and power was knocked out to more than 130,000 homes and businesses.

After the rains stopped, damage assessments began in earnest Thursday and people began returning home to evaluate damage. The Downeaster passenger train, which runs between Portland and Boston, resumed operations after canceling service for three days.

Assessment teams on Thursday began reviewing damage to homes and businesses in York and Hancock counties, said Darby Duffin, spokesman for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Other teams are assessing damages to roads, bridges and public infrastructure in York, Cumberland, Oxford and Knox counties.

The teams are made up of representatives from FEMA, MEMA, the U.S. Small Business Administration and local agencies, Duffin said.

Also Thursday, Gov. John Baldacci took to the air for a second consecutive day to view damage from a helicopter in York and Lincoln counties. He also had a ground tour of both counties to get a closer look.

Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator David Paulison was scheduled to come to Maine on Friday at the invitation of Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins.

The three planned to meet with local and county officials while getting an up-close look at storm-damaged areas in Cumberland and York counties.

The tour will give federal officials a better understanding of what the government can do to help Maine recover from the storm, Snowe and Collins said.

As the storm pushed out to sea, Mainers basked in the sun. At midday, temperatures had climbed into the mid-50s in Portland, the warmest it has been all month. The statewide forecast was calling for mostly sunny skies with highs in the mid-50s to mid-60s during the weekend.

In Falmouth, David Segre pulled his 3-year-old son, Sebastian, in a red wagon as the buzzing of chain saws filled the air.

His neighborhood near Mackworth Island was hard hit. Many large trees were blown over, knocking down power lines. In the neighborhood, the downed power, cable and telephone lines formed a jumble on the ground.

Segre and his family stayed put for three days before they’d had enough and spent Wednesday night in a hotel.

But by Thursday, the sun was out and utility crews had arrived. A block away, a crew was replacing a broken utility pole on U.S. 1 and workers were chopping up the dozens of trees that had been knocked over.

“For the most part, people are pretty understanding,” Segre said. “Having the sun out changes everyone’s mood.”

Crews continued working to restore electricity to thousands of homes and businesses without power. As of late Thursday afternoon, about 11,500 Central Maine Power customers were still in the dark, most of them in the Brunswick service area.

Crews often had to cut through trees that were uprooted or knocked over by high winds to reach affected neighborhoods. They also had to replace nearly 325 broken utility poles, said CMP spokesman John Carroll.

“That’s more damage than we had from Hurricane Bob in 1991 and Hurricane Gloria in 1985,” Carroll said.

CMP said many customers in the Brunswick and Portland areas probably would get their power back on Friday night. Some customers, however, still might be without power into Saturday.

Associated Press writer David Sharp contributed to this report.