Brunswick police officer Gretchen Paxton directs traffic on Maine Street Wednesday during a power outage in downtown Brunswick that forced police officers to direct traffic because overhead signals did not work. At least one crash, involving an ambulance, occurred during the traffic confusion caused by the outage (Darren Fishell / The Times Record)
So, with power out, he decided to walk past darkened storefronts like at Bull Moose music, down toward construction at the top of Maine Street, but the cause wasn’t there.
CMP spokeswoman Gail Rice said a lightning arrester at the Bangor Hydro Electric Co. substation on the Androscoggin River failed, leaving approximately 2,400 customers in the area without electricity.
She estimated power would be restored by 3:15 p.m., but noted, “We’re trying to do some switching to see if we can get it back sooner.”
Meanwhile, Brunswick police officers directed traffic up and down Maine Street throughout the early afternoon, and dispatchers redirected emergency vehicles along side streets.
According to a Twitter report from the Bowdoin Orient, the outage also postponed a blood drive in the college’s student union.
While Norman walked along Maine Street with his dog, Scooter, he bemoaned the loss of revenue from the outage that forced him to cancel today’s first screening of “A Separation” and placed later showings in doubt.
Adding to traffic confusion on upper Maine Street, just before 2 p.m., a Brunswick ambulance was involved in a two-vehicle crash near Maine Street and Bath Road. Further information on the crash was not immediately available at posting time.
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