A wire lays coiled up on the side of the road as a fallen tree rests on the remaining hanging power lines on Marquis Road in Freeport. Storm recovery efforts began April 5 after a nor’easter blew through the Midcoast. Kristian Moravec / The Times Record file photo

With the 2025 storm season around the corner and the increased intensity of storms, Midcoast authorities and emergency officials are urging residents to take caution and prepare in advance for severe weather — and the inevitable power outages that come with it.

This past year, repeated major storms left thousands of residents without power and left many vulnerable to loss of heat in cold-weather months. Last spring, residents in the greater Brunswick area sought refuge in libraries and the Brunswick Recreation Center for after an ice storm caught communities off guard, only to be hit a week later by a second nor’easter. Both storms came just months after severe weather slammed parts of Maine in December and January.

Midcoast customers with Central Maine Power reported tens of thousands of outages stemming from the two nor’easters. Amid outages that persisted in severe summer weather events, the company pointed to climate change as the culprit for the increased outages that have plagued the state. With the increasing risk of outages exacerbated by weather, Brunswick officials said that residents should have supplies ready and know how to use emergency equipment properly so as not to burden emergency response systems.

“Do not call the police department when you lose power or ask when the power is coming back on,” said Brunswick Police Chief Scott Stewart, noting that it’s important for residents to remember that the Dispatch Center for emergency services — including police, fire and EMS services — are overwhelmed during severe storms. Instead, outages should be reported to power providers, he said.

“The last thing they need are additional calls asking about or reporting power outages,” Stewart said. “Answering those types of calls takes time away from the many priorities that are occurring.”

Local officials also urge residents to be prepared to go without power for long periods of time, given the prevalence of outages. Last storm season, some Midcoasters went without consistent power for days following a storm. In terms of planning ahead, Bath Police Chief Andrew Booth said residents should have enough food, water, medication, pet food and fuel for generators or other machinery to last them a few days.

“CMP works hard to get power back up, but sometimes the amount of outages means certain areas will have to be prepared to wait for power to be restored,” Booth said. 

Booth also pointed to warming shelters as a resource, should anyone need one. Tedford Housing just opened a new warming shelter, which is open seven nights a week from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. until mid-April at 1 Tenney Way in Brunswick. In larger emergencies, towns will designate temporary shelters or warming centers if needed, Booth said.

Brunswick Fire Chief Ken Brillant emphasized that organizing ahead for extended outages is key. In fact, the Cumberland County Emergency Management Agency said it is good practice to keep a disaster kit of necessary items in a backpack or box inside the home, and Brillant urged against last-minute planning. Making sure residents have extra canned food and other provisions in case they can’t get to a store during a storm is a good idea — waiting until the day before or of to get these provisions is not, he said.

Brillant also pointed to a 2017 tip sheet from the National Fire Protection Association, which notes that fires occur more often in winter than other times of year and suggests checking smoke detectors, planning escape routes from the home and other fire safety tips for the season. Brillant added that residents should also check their carbon monoxide detectors and make sure all fire prevention devices have good batteries, as well as ensure residents are using their backup generators appropriately.

“We saw about a half dozen incidents with high levels of carbon monoxide in the house during storm events,” Brillant said. “These were all caused by generators and improper use. Generators should not be run near open windows or doors, even if they are only cracked open to allow extension cords to be run. They also should not be run inside a garage.”

New and old approaches for this — and future — storm seasons

As severe storms become status quo, officials across the region are preparing to deal with the aftermath. Just last month, CMP teams across the state ran a drill at its Augusta headquarters for its Emergency Response Plan in preparation of the 2025 winter storm season. Staff practice protocols for, during and after heavy rain, flooding and significant winds in a mock storm. The drill, of course, came a week prior to a Thanksgiving storm that knocked out power to more than 70,000 Maine customers.

CMP said it is typically the first responder to downed trees across Maine and works closely with local emergency management agencies to mitigate outages in severe weather. Its first priority is to restore power to customers, but climate change and the subsequent changing nature of storms in the past few years are posing a unique challenges to the grid, the company said.

Over the summer, Maine State Climatologist Sean Birkel said that many factors contribute to the increased storm damage that communities have seen in recent years. For one, the winter storms last year had three major southeasterly wind events — an unusual phenomena at that time of year, he said. Trees, which are weakened with each passing of severe weather, are also more likely to fall, he said, which contribute to outages. Heavy precipitation events will continue to become more impactful, he said.

To combat climate-related storms, CMP is working to make its grid more resilient in vulnerable areas like the Midcoast. This includes replacing wooden crossarms and fiberglass and wooden transmission poles with steel or upgrading the wire to better protect the grid from trees.

But on a smaller scale, local emergency departments are doing what they can to mitigate the effects, including following local Emergency Management Agency alerts. For communities like Bath in Sagadahoc County, for instance, this involves using its new emergency alert systems that residents can rely on urgent and routine notifications about winter storm events through Sagadahoc Emergency Management Agency. Residents can sign up for it at SagadahocCountyME.gov.

But emergency planning is also contingent on predictable weather, which is simply not possible sometimes. Brillant recalled how last year’s heavy rain, flooding and wind events were tough to deal with, only to be followed by a heavy, wet snow and ice storm that exceed forecasts, catching many response teams off guard. He said that this incident, specifically, the March ice storm, caused large numbers of power outages that lasted a few days. Still, he said, the emergency teams will continue doing what they can to respond to storm-related incidents.

“As far as us preparing for these events, we will continue to monitor weather forecasts and any special alerts from [Maine Emergency Management Agency] regarding storms and adjust our staffing and response cards as needed,” Brillant said. “These are all things that we have been doing and will continue to do.”

Resources

CMP customers can report outages at 1-800-696-1000 or submit a report at cmpco.com/report-outage. View other CMP resources and emergency tips at cmpco.com/outages/beprepared/emergencyresources.

Those on Brunswick Landing with power serviced through the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority can report outages to 798-6512 or submit a report at brunswicklanding.us/about-mrra/report-an-outage/.

Visit your local fire and police department websites for additional, location-specific emergency information. See the CCEMA or SCEMA websites for additional guidance.