The University of Maine at Farmington housed approximately 120 out-of-state utility workers from Wednesday, Dec. 20, to Friday, Dec 22, while the crews worked hard to restore power to Franklin County, according to a recent article in the Sun Journal. Line workers from New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Michigan and even Canada were brought in to help restore power in the wake of the storm.
UMF Facilities workers set up bedding in Dearborn Gym to accommodate over 100 utilities workers as they worked to restore power to Mainers in the aftermath of the recent storm.
UMF Facilities Director Keenan Farwell and his department were able to lay matting down onto the gymnasium floor and set up 120 mattresses for the workers in Dearborn Gymnasium. The mattresses were from Mallett and Purington halls, two of the university’s historical residence halls which are currently under renovation.
Two of the university’s parking lots were utilized to park approximately 60 utility trucks during the workers’ stay.
The powerful storm that hit the state on Monday, Dec. 18, shut down roads, schools and businesses, and left almost 500,000 Maine residents without power. Governor Janet Mills urged Mainers to stay inside and avoid travel as emergency first responders, road crews and utility workers worked diligently.
To read the rest of this article, visit the Sun Journal.