The iconic lighthouse that greets thousands of visitors each year in Cape Elizabeth sustained significant damage in Friday’s storm that drove heavy winds and high seas into Portland Head Light.
The museum attached to the lighthouse took the brunt of the weather, which smashed windows, damaged siding, blew a steel door off its hinges and destroyed fencing, Cape Elizabeth Town Manager Matthew Sturgis said Wednesday.
“It was comparable to being in a hurricane,” said Sturgis, who visited the lighthouse at the height of the storm on Friday. “Twenty-to-30-foot waves hit the rocks and traveled.”
The winter storm pummeled Maine with heavy rain, high winds and coastal flooding. More than 365,000 households and businesses lost power throughout the state as tree branches and power poles snapped, knocking out electricity at the start of the Christmas holiday weekend.
By Tuesday evening, Central Maine Power reported that power had been restored to all of its affected customers, which totaled more than 300,000. Their efforts included resetting more than 300 broken utility poles.
In northern and eastern Maine, Versant Power continued to work on restoration efforts on Wednesday, reporting just over 1,200 customers without power as of 2 p.m., according to its website.
Another historic site in southern Maine, Fort Preble on the campus of Southern Maine Community College, sustained minor damage from Friday’s storm, said college President Joe Cassidy.
Large stones on the Willard Beach end of the fort have been deteriorating and falling out of place for years, with Friday’s storm just the latest assault on the structure, he said.
The fort, built in 1808 and expanded until 1906, was active through World War II. But it was deactivated and has been the university’s responsibility for about 75 years.
Cassidy said the university is working with an engineer to plan for repairs and has consulted with the city of South Portland and the Army Corps of Engineers.
“It’s a perennial issue in terms of keeping it up,” he said. “Our goal is to make a plan to preserve what’s there and what’s left for future generations to come.”
At Portland Head Light, the lighthouse itself, built in 1791 at the direction of George Washington, sustained little damage, but will need some minor masonry repairs, Sturgis said.
An insurance adjuster visited the site Wednesday along with members of the historical society to get plans underway for repairs to the museum area. Sturgis estimates it will cost thousands to fix the building, which will need to comply with historic standards.
“Hopefully we can get it ready in time for the season,” he said. “We appreciate people’s patience.”
