Central Maine Power has restored power to 97 percent of customers. The state is now seeking a federal disaster declaration to finish the job.

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WEBVTT OF SLEEP.THEN WE WILL DEAL WITH IT.HAPPENING NOW, CREWS FROMCENTRAL MAINE POWER NOT ALL THATWELL RESTED.THEY'VE BEEN WORKING AROUND THECLOCK TO RESTORE POWER TOTHOUSANDS OF MAINERS IN THE DARKFROM MONDAY'S STORM.KATHLEEN: THOUSANDS OF LINEMENJOINING THIS EFFORT.ERIN DIXON IS LIVE IN PORTLANDTHIS MORNING.SHE IS BEEN TALKING WITH CMPOFFICIALS ABOUT THE RECOVERY.ERIN: GOOD MORNING.AS YOU SAID, THESE CREWS MAY NOTBE WELL RESTED AT THE MANY WEHAVE SEEN PULL OUT HAVE BEENVERY FRIENDLY, WAVING.THEY MUST KNOW THEY ARE NEARINGTHE END.WHEN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUTWHAT MORALES LIKE?>> PEOPLE'S SPIRITS ARE STILLVERY HIGH.EVERYBODY IS STILL GETTING ALONGWITH ONE ANOTHER.WE HAVE GOT A GREAT TEAM HERE.WITH ALL OF THE MUTUAL AID CREWSAND ALL THE PEOPLE IN THEOFFICES WORKING BEHIND THESCENES AND WORKING IN SUPPORTROLES.SPIRITS ARE STILL UP.WE ALL WANT THIS TO BE OVER ASSOON AS WE CAN FINISH.WE ARE KEEPING OUR SPIRITS UP.ERIN: IN TERMS OF THE PEOPLEWITHOUT POWER, WHAT DO YOU HAVETO SAY?>> WE KNOW THAT IF YOU ARE STILLWITHOUT POWER -- WE KNOW THEYWANT THEIR POWER BACK.THEY KNOW -- THEY WANT TO KNOWWHEN IT IS BACK.EVEN BEYOND THE END OF TODAY, WEARE GOING TO BE OUT HERE EVERYDAY UNTIL WE GET EVERYBODY BACKUP.AT THIS POINT, WE ARE LITERALLYPUTTING ONE CUSTOMER ON AT ATIME.THAT IS THE POINT WE ARE AT.IT IS SLOW GOING, LABORINTENSIVE, BUT WE ARE COMMITTEDWORKING 24/7.ERIN: WE HAVE SPENT OUR MORNINGHERE AND WE WANT TO THANK THECRUISE.DO YOU THINK YOU HAVE GOT THATRESPONSE PEOPLE OUT?>> THEY ARE.PEOPLE HAVE EXPRESSED THEIRGRATITUDE BUT WHAT IS REALLYTOUCHING IS WHEN PEOPLEEXPRESSED CONCERN FOR THE CREW'SSAFETY.FROM THE MINUTE IT STARTED TILLRIGHT NOW, PEOPLE ARE STILLSAYING, STAY SAFE, DO NOT RUSHAND FORGET ABOUT SAFETY.THAT IS REALLY TOUCHING THEEVERYONE IS CONCERNED ABOUT OURCRUISE -- CREWS SAFETY.WE ARE GLAD TO SEE OUR CUSTOMERSHARE THE SAME COMMITMENT TOSAFETY.ERIN: WHAT A WEEK IT HAS BEENFOR BOTH CREWS AND THOSE WITHOUTPOWER.WE ARE HAPPY TO SEE THISPROGRESS MADE.

Advertisement 5 days after storm nearly 13,000 CMP customers are still without power Central Maine Power has restored power to 97 percent of customers. The state is now seeking a federal disaster declaration to finish the job.

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Five days after a storm brought down trees and power lines across Maine, Central Maine Power is reporting fewer than 15,000 homes and businesses who remain without service. CMP has restored electrical service to more than 460,000 customers. That number represents approximately 97% of the original outages. Total list of school closings & delays9 a.m. Saturday, CMP reported about 35,000 customers without power. At the height of outages Monday, 405,000 customers were without power.The most outages Saturday morning were in Cumberland, Kennebec and Lincoln counties. "At this stage of the storm recovery, outage numbers may fluctuate as additional trees and limbs fall and come in contact with power lines," CMP President & CEO Sara Burns said Saturday morning. Burns added that crews have reached the point where each repair brings back fewer and fewer customers, but they continue to make steady progress. CMP announced a goal earlier this week of getting most customers back online by Saturday night.Saturday morning CMP officials told WMTW over the phone that 10,000 people would be without power Saturday night including many of Maine's island residents.CMP said Saturday would be one of the largest field deployment days with more than 1,400 line workers and and nearly 900 tree crews. Open shelters, warming centers and charging stationsAccording to CMP's website, about 90 percent of its customers pay for power at residences. The remaining 10 percent is made up of commercial and industrial customers and lighting."The average day we're 900 people in Maine. Today we're managing 3,000. It's an extraordinary challenge for us," Burns said Friday. "We are 100 percent focused on getting this finished when we promised."Restoration is expected to take a week in some remote areas.More than 3,000 people were working to bring power back on Friday, Burns said. They are coming from 14 states, New Brunswick and Quebec.Burns said in addition to the outages from the storm, there have been daily outages added into the mix from car vs. pole crashes."We are at the slowest part of this," she said, as crews now target more rural areas where one circuit may connect one or two customers, rather than much larger amounts of customers.One-thousand poles broke in the storm, she estimated. As of Friday, crews had fixed 600 poles.Company officials wrote on Facebook late Wednesday that they are aware their website may not reflect outage information correctly."The list and map are populated from a tool that estimates the location of power outages based on pieces of data from the Smart Meters and our crews," the post said. "While this list might not show your road, please know that we are relying on sophisticated circuit maps that pinpoint every outage for us."Burns said if you are not seeing a restoration time, you can call CMP directly at 800-696-1000.Federal disaster declarationState officials are working on applying for a federal disaster declaration, acting Maine Emergency Management Agency director Peter Rogers said Thursday.The last time a disaster was declared in Maine was for the January 2015 blizzard, Rogers said.In order to qualify for the declaration, Maine must have more than $1.9 million in damages.Information from MEMA about resources available:Individuals should document damage from the Oct. 29 storm through photos and receipts, and first work with their homeowner’s insuranceDocumented losses should be reported to 211 Maine by calling 211. They will need the name, address and a summary of the losses related to this storm onlyThose who cannot afford to fix damage from the storm should contact their municipal General Assistance Officer for assistance that may be availableCheck with local food pantries if you have lost foodCommunity Action Programs may be able to provide some assistance to those who meet certain income guidelinesCurrent SNAP benefit recipients may be able to obtain a voucher to replace lost food. Contact the Office of Family Independence at 855-797-4357Farmers who experience losses and need assistance should contact USDA Farm Service Agency at 207-990-9140Small Business Administration offers low rate emergency disaster loan assistance for businesses, private nonprofits, homeowners and renters, at disasterloan.sba.gov. Individuals can also contact 2-1-1 Maine for referrals for assistance"We are still in a response and a recovery mode, so we're trying to do two things at once," Rogers said.Rogers encouraged Mainers to take pictures of damaged property or food, which also needs to hit a threshold, in order for individuals to get individual federal assistance.Well-being checksMaine State Police said Thursday that troopers will perform well-being checks if needed, especially for Mainers with medical issues or the elderly.Mainers can request well-being checks by calling their nearest Department of Public Safety dispatch center.MEMA officials said they did not know of any storm-related deaths.State of emergencyAs of Friday morning, 43 state roads remained closed due to storm debris.Burns and Gov. Paul LePage met with line workers in Brunswick on Wednesday morning before touring some of the storm damage.LePage declared a state of emergency Monday afternoon and said the proclamation gives utility companies the resources they need to restore power as quickly as possible.LePage urged Mainers to be patient and not to approach line workers. LePage said he was pleased that crews from Canada and several other states were helping to restore power.The governor was in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, testifying on a bill, his office said. He was expected to return to Maine on Thursday night.“With the number of Mainers without power reaching the same as those without power during the Ice Storm (of 1998), we need to make sure power is restored as quickly as possible,” LePage said after the storm. “I urge all Mainers to check on their neighbors and stay safe as they travel around the state.”Crew safetyNo serious injuries have been reported from the storm.CMP said a major concern for out of state workers has been tick exposure. Out of state workers who do not live in areas with high risk of Lyme disease have been dealing with higher rates of embedded ticks while in Maine working on power restoration. Burns said there have been at least one case where home generators have been feeding electricity on to lines, hindering the process. She said to make sure your generator is properly installed.MaineDOT issued a reminder Thursday, urging Mainers not to remove cones or traffic barricades.Safety tips from MEMA:Do not touch downed power lines and objects that are touching themPower restoration is expected to take several days; check on your neighborsEnsure generators and alternate heat sources are in good working condition and properly installed and located in a well-ventilated areaUse caution when operating chainsaws for debris removal and wear personal protective equipment and/or work with experienced tree-removal servicesThose who have been without power for several days should discard food that has not been stored at the proper temperature (refrigerator 40 degrees or below; freezer zero degrees or below)Document all damage costs to property for insurance and other assistance purposes"MaineDOT crews cannot clear the brush or power lines from a roadway until CMP has determined the line and area are safe," MaineDOT press secretary Ted Talbot said in a statement. "Even if a line is disconnected from a pole, it may be fed from residential generators or other sources."Several cones and barriers have been moved, Talbot said."As the CMP television ad said, 'No line is safe to touch… ever!' MaineDOT would add that no line is safe to travel over as well," he said.CMP officials said the power outages surpass the Ice Storm of 1998, adding that 357,000 customers lost power in that storm.CMP officials said in 1998, about 2,600 utility poles broke. They estimate 1,000 poles broke in this storm.