ALFRED — Officials from Central Maine Power are working to get power back to all Mainers by tonight.

Yesterday, at a briefing at the York County Emergency Management Agency office, CMP President Sarah Burns said the company planned to restore power to all of its customers by tonight, although she said weather conditions could make it challenging.

This morning, a statement from CMP reported new outages in the state due to early morning wind and snow.

“Crews will be working to meet our goal to get everyone back on by tonight, although, working in these conditions will make that more difficult,” said CMP spokesman John Carroll in the statement.

As of 6 a.m. this morning, there were 4,761 people out of power in York County, down from about 45,000 on Friday.

As of this morning, the South Berwick Community Center, 75 Norton Street, South Berwick, is the only shelter still open in York County. Pet sheltering is available at the Animal Welfare Society in Kennebunk, and those interested must call York County Emergency Management Agency at 324-1578 for a referral.

York County, Cumberland County, Lincoln County and Sagadahoc counties were the hardest hit during the storm, said Burns.

At yesterday’s briefing, Gov. John Baldacci thanked both officials from York County Emergency Management Agency and CMP for their work.

Baldacci said that the state emergency operations center was set up and staffed, but there were very few calls for resources.

“You folks were doing it here and you were coordinating with local communities,” he said to York County Emergency Management Agency officials. He said that they did a very impressive job and he appreciated what they did to keep people safe.

“I just want to give you a pat on the back and say good job,” he said.

Baldacci said that Central Maine Power company was really “leaning forward” in preparing for this storm.

“Your preparation was much more aggressive this time around, and we appreciate that,” he said.

Burns said that the company has taken a “far more aggressive plan” trimming trees than it did two years ago, which she said made a difference in fallen branches. However, much of the damage was from fallen trees.

“When you get 60- or 70-mile-an-hour winds, it’s not branches that come down, it’s trees that come down,” she said.

Burns said that CMP office staff were making calls to customers to determine if they had power. In the future when “smart meters” are installed, the new meters will help the company determine whether customers have power, she said.

This recent storm knocked down about 240 electricity poles, compared to 170 in the ice storm in 2008.

“We took a big hit,” said York County Emergency Management Director Bob Bohlmann.

He said that that many towns were so busy cleaning up debris that they hadn’t had time to make any estimation on damages yet. However, he said that the few estimates that were in were higher than anticipated.

“It’s going to rival the Patriots Day storm as far as damages,”’ he said.

— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 282-1535, Ext. 325 or egotthelf@journaltribune.com.