WHEREAS, forecast confidence continues to increase that Hurricane Lee will make landfall on or near Maine’s coast; and

WHEREAS, there is a threat of widespread or severe damage, injury, loss of life and property resulting from this storm; and

WHEREAS, sustained high winds, pounding surf, and heavy rains could result in dangerous conditions, coastal storm warnings, flooding and other potential hazards which pose an imminent threat to public safety as well as damage to public and private property; and 

WHEREAS, repair crews from Maine, other New England states, and Canada may have to work continuously to clear roads and restore power; and

WHEREAS, the health, safety, and resources of the people of the State of Maine are endangered thereby. 

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Janet T. Mills, Governor of the State of Maine, pursuant to Me. Const. Art. V, Pt. 1, § § 1 and 12, do hereby find and declare by this Proclamation that these conditions constitute a state of emergency within the meaning of 37-B M.R.S. §703(2), §742(l)(A) and 37-B MR.S. Ch. 13, subch. II and 22 MR.S. §801 (4-A) and §802(2-A). This Proclamation activates any and all authority delegated to me by any and all emergency management, public health, and other pertinent laws to issue any and all oral and written directives that I, reasonably deem necessary to respond to and protect against the impacts of Hurricane Lee. I do hereby order as follows:

1. For purposes of disaster preparation and standing up additional resources, a state of emergency is hereby declared for the State of Maine due to the imminent threat posed by this storm.
2. I hereby authorize the Maine Emergency Management Agency ("MEMA") to activate and deploy resources, if deemed necessary, to assist in the response to this emergency.
3. Law enforcement and environmental authorities are directed to compel the evacuation or closure of all or part of the population from any stricken or threatened area within the state, as deemed necessary for public safety, including but not limited to, beaches and campgrounds, and control ingress and egress to and from a stricken or threatened area.
4. All state departments, agencies or quasi-state agencies and boards and commissions performing executive functions shall cooperate fully with MEMA in all matters concerning this Order. Efforts to provide emergency relief to the affected cities and towns should be coordinated by and through MEMA. 
5. This Order shall take effect immediately and remain in full force and effect until the danger has passed or the emergency conditions no longer exist.

In testimony whereof, I have caused the Great Seal of the State to be hereunto affixed GIVEN under my hand at Augusta this fourteenth day of September Two Thousand Twenty-Three