South Rockland power outage traced back to single vehicle crash in Owls Head

Much of Downtown Main Street in Rockland and points south fell into darkness for approximately 40 minutes, Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024. However, the cause was not due to any Rockland incident.

In order to remove a pickup truck from the scene of a single vehicle crash into a utility pole in Owls Head, Central Maine Power Company needed to shut off the entire grid associated with the particular pole. 

At approximately 4:25 p.m., Knox Regional Communications recieved a report of a pickup truck hitting the utility pole on Ingraham Drive at the entrance to the Bayside neighborhood. The impact of the crash broke the pole, which held a transformer, causing lights to flicker in houses at least 2 miles north of the scene.

Owls Head Fire Dept. and Rockland EMS responded to the scene, as did Knox County Sheriff’s Office. 

Approximately 20 minutes after the call, CMP cut the power, sending more lights into darkness and requiring Rockland police to station themselves at intersections such as Union and Limerock streets, while another officer rerouted southbound traffic on Route 73. 

At the scene, the driver and sole occupant declined medical attention. 

CMP restored power to the greater neighborhood at approximately 5:40 p.m., and shortly after, brought in its own traffic flaggers, relieving on-scene firefighters, who returned to their station at 6:05 p.m. Neighbors in the immediate vicinity of the crash, stretching north past the town line into Rockland on one end, remained in the dark for several more hours.

Reach Sarah Thompson at news@penbaypilot.com