Day 11: A little over 300 customers in N.B. still without power in freezing temperatures

As temperatures plunge to lows of –29 C, NB Power continues work to reconnect customers in northeastern New Brunswick that were hit hard by an ice storm a week and a half ago.

As of 8:20 p.m. AT Saturday, there were 318 customers without power on the Acadian Peninsula, spread among a number of communities including Savoie Landing, Sainte-Marie-Saint-Raphaël and Lamèque. There are no outages in the Miramichi region.

Temperatures dropped to –27 C overnight and the wind chill Saturday morning was –29. Gusty winds of up to 40 km/h were forecast for this afternoon.

NB Power director Bernard Roy said Saturday they had 308 power crews from across Eastern Canada working to restore power. 

Roy said most of the repairs were permanent, though there have been a few cases where temporary repairs were done to speed up restoration.

"The infrastructure we've installed is as good as new," he said.

Roy said the power crews are in good spirits.

"It's cold obviously, but they have good gear. If they have to take a break for a few minutes to warm up, we understand that.

"Their morale is good, they know we're getting near [finished] and they're very motivated to make sure all the customers have power." 

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At its height, more than 130,000 customers across the province were without power. In total, about 200,000 customers have been affected by the ice storm.

Warming centre closes

Now that customers have been reconnected in the Neguac region, the warming centre set up at the Royal Canadian Legion has closed.  

Tabusintac resident Doris Kenny said she was grateful for the centre during the nine days she was without power at her home on the Grattan Road. It was restored Thursday.

"Now we are trying to get ourselves back together and start living again," she said.

Kenny was critical of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's visit to the warming centre on Friday night.

''I find he's coming quite late. It's been over a week we're living this. When something happens at the other end of the world, the government is right there. And it's not over.''

Help needed

Trudeau visited two warming centres, the one in Neguac and one in Lamè​que to thank volunteers and ensure that the most vulnerable storm victims will continue to receive help in the coming weeks and months.

Neguac resident Serge Aubrey said many are hurting financially in a region heavily dependent on seasonal work. 

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"People here live week by week, or cheque by cheque. And they have a budget.''

Aubrey said many used what little money they had on extra food, drinking water and, in some cases, to buy generators.

''It's not just one little town here. We're talking the entire peninsula, major — the biggest disaster we ever seen.''

The Canadian Red Cross announced Saturday it will help distribute emergency financial aid to those severely impacted by the Jan. 24 and 25 ice storm and subsequent power outages. To qualify for aid, people must register with the Red Cross by phoning 1-888-893-1300. The line is open daily between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m.

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