BELFAST — With more than half of Waldo County without power late Monday afternoon, the American Red Cross and Waldo County Emergency Management Agency have opened a shelter at Troy Howard Middle School on Lincolnville Avenue (Route 52) in Belfast.

EMA Director Dale Rowley said that the number of residents without power in the county spiked Monday afternoon, and with Central Maine Power maxed out and night closing in, the need for a shelter became obvious.

“CMP said they won’t be doing anymore restoration tonight,” said Rowley. “They have staked everything that needs repair and will head back out in the morning.”

CMP spokesperson John Carroll said late Monday afternoon that with the storm continuing, the company’s current focus is on public safety.

“With the continuing reports of downed lines, we need to get out and make sure those lines are de-energized and that will keep us hopping tonight,” said Carroll. “We will do some restoration work, but we will cut the crews down to rest them overnight while we continue to assess and make crew assignments for the morning. Tomorrow, in the daylight and when roads are better, we’ll be out in force with fresh, well-rested crews that will then be able to get more work done, quicker.”

Carroll said that if customers are without power now, it’s likely they will be without power until tomorrow.

“We are actually still in the impact phase of the storm, with new reports of outages coming in,” said Carroll.

That means a long, cold night for some, unless they pack a pillow and some clothes and head to the middle school.

Once there, they will find cots, blankets, food and water, and access to hot showers. Those taking advantage of the shelter should also bring their medications and something to keep them entertained until the Red Cross can get something set up.

“We expect it will mostly be folks on medical oxygen, looking for a place to stay tonight,” said Rowley. “But the shelter is open to anyone and everyone.

Rowley said they are also in the process of setting up a shelter for pets, but that if someone is in need of a shelter and has a dog or cat too, to call the EMA office at 338-3870.

“And if they have problems with transportation, give us a call as we are working on some transportation options and we have have a Waldo CAP bus and driver on duty at the shelter for pickups,” said Rowley.

Of the 23,760 CMP customers in Waldo County, 14,579 are without power as of 4:15 p.m. In Knox County, 3,743 of a total 24,882 CMP customers are without power. In the 13 counties CMP serves, 56,923 customers are currently without power, unless they have a generator or other auxiliary power source.

To report an outage, CMP customers should call 1-800-696-1000 or report it online here. For emergencies, call 911.

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Editorial Director Holly S. Edwards can be reached at hollyedwards@penbaypilot.com or 706-6655.