Thousands in Maine are still without power after Saturday's strong winds

Updated at 2:55 p.m

Thousands of Mainers remained without power Saturday, and outages are expected to last through the afternoon.

Around 2:45 p.m., Versant Power reported 19,503 service outages, a slight decrease from the 19,861 outages reported around 1:15 p.m. The outages are attributed to high winds and recovery efforts are underway.

According to a Facebook post from Dragons Lair, an arcade at Bangor Mall, Bangor Mall had power as of 1:10 p.m. The Oriental Jade restaurant, located near the mall, said in a morning post on its Facebook page that there was a power outage, but did not confirm whether power was back at 2:45 p.m

The Bangor Walmart on Stillwater Avenue was closed to the public around 11 a.m. this morning after the power went out. A call to the store at 1:15 p.m. did not result in a connection and multiple community reports indicated the store remained closed at 2:45 p.m

As of 2:45 p.m., the Stillwater Chick-fil-a remained closed after the power went out around 10 a.m

Fresh Start Sober Living in Bangor posted on its Facebook page that a large tree had fallen near its building. One photo showed a large tree that had fallen across Center Street, apparently crushing a vehicle.

At approximately 11:35 a.m., Pittsfield Police announced that Madawaska Road is currently closed from Main Street to Waverly Street. And in Minot, Pottle Hill Road is closed at the Millett Road intersection.

The Bridgton Fire and Rescue Department also noted that numerous trees had fallen in the area and road closures were expected.

Wind gusts of up to 50 miles per hour were expected in many communities across the state Saturday, according to the National Weather Service. A wind warning is in effect until at least 4 p.m

Numerous fire departments across the state announced that fire permits were canceled today due to the high winds.

Central Maine Power reported 57,123 outages as of 2:45 a.m. That's down from the 67,290 outages reported around 1:15 p.m

The default numbers continue to fluctuate. Crews from Versant Power and Central Maine Power have been deployed and are working to restore power. Power restoration times in your area may change as weather conditions change.

According to Central Maine Power spokesman Jon Breed, crews cannot go up in truck elevators to repair lines when wind speeds exceed 30 miles per hour, slowing restoration efforts.