The aftermath of last month's windstorm, which cut power to half a million Mainers, continues as teams from the Maine Emergency Management Agency - or MEMA - begin to investigate the extent of damage to public areas.
Seven teams from MEMA, along with federal and county investigators, are assessing storm damage in 14 counties. MEMA spokesperson Susan Faloon was on the road with one of the teams Thursday. She says some residential areas now look like "lumber yards."
"We are in a housing development where a reported microburst took place," she says. "There are trees - like several acres of trees - that are down."
Faloon says the data will be gathered over a few days, then delivered to Gov. Paul LePage, who can declare a disaster if the $1.9 million threshold is reached. The declaration would make the state eligible for federal aid.
Faloon is also encouraging individuals who suffered major damage to private property to call the state at 2-1-1 to describe the damage in detail; no individual assistance is available at this time, but she says that could change if storm damage proves to be great enough.
