More than half the state's homes and businesses lost power yesterday in the largest outage in New Hampshire history.

A storm dropped up to an inch of ice across the southern half of the state Thursday and yesterday, downing branches and wires and leaving 400,000 customers without electricity.

Affected residents should expect to be without power until at least mid-week, said Thomas Getz, chairman of the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission. Residents in remote areas and those with problems affecting only their home may not regain service until next weekend, he said.

Power is being restored on a priority basis, with crews directing their attention to health facilities and substations affecting the most residents.

Utilities called in backup crews yesterday from as far as Virginia, Ohio and Quebec, as state and local workers scrambled to clear debris from roads. Gov. John Lynch declared a state of emergency and requested a federal declaration of emergency, which would allow the state to receive federal assistance.

The ice storm affected the entire Northeast region, leaving 1.25 million homes and businesses without power from Maine to Pennsylvania. But state officials in Concord said New Hampshire had been hit harder than neighboring states.

With temperatures projected to drop into the single digits today, 25 shelters have been set up throughout the state by Red Cross and local agencies. State officials urged affected residents to first seek lodging with friends and family.

"The shelter should truly be your last resort," said Chris Pope, state director of homeland security and emergency management.

In the greater Concord area, nearly 10,000 Unitil customers lost service. Many of the city's major arteries were closed yesterday morning but later reopened. By evening, about 16 people had moved into a shelter at the Green Street Community Center, said Fire Chief Dan Andrus.

Courts, schools and colleges were closed throughout the region, and many people stayed home from work. In Bow, Bruce Harvey went out early to buy a generator but found them sold out. He came home with a chainsaw instead, and he and his wife, Thea, spent the rest of the morning cutting trees and clearing debris.

"The yard just looked like a war zone," she said during a break.

In Contoocook midday, the only action in a darkened downtown was at Dimitri's Pizza & Restaurant. It was a 25-minute wait for lunch from the propane kitchen, as sweater-clad customers huddled around their first cups of coffee.

The stop was a welcome respite from the Barnes house on Cedar Street, where temperatures had dropped to the low 50s. Ken Barnes and his son, Zach, 8, said they often ate Friday dinner at Dimitri's. But with no power and no plans to leave, they said they would likely be back throughout the weekend.

Despite his concerns about heating and hot water, Ken Barnes said, there were a few upsides to the storm. Zach Barnes, with his day off from third grade, agreed.

"It sort of brings the community together," Barnes said. "You see people you only see at town meeting and another couple of times a year."

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