Tree cleanup from Storm Arthur set for next week

Communities in the Fredericton area have planned operations next week to clear away trees and other debris from post-tropical storm Arthur.

The cleanup operation for local service districts in the Fredericton area is scheduled to begin Tuesday.

The local service districts affected are: Blissville, Bright, Burton, Cambridge, Canning, Chipman, Clarendon, Douglas, Dumfries, Durham/Taymouth, Estey's Bridge, Gladstone, Hampstead, Hanwell, Keswick Ridge, Kingsclear, Lakeside Estates, Lincoln, Lower Douglas, Maugerville, New Maryland, Noonan, Northfield, Pepper Creek, Prince William, Queensbury, Rusagonis-Waasis, Sheffield, Southampton, Stanley, St. Mary's, Upper Gagetown, Waterborough and Wirral-Enniskillen.

Residents need to pile their debris near main roads, but not on the right of way prior to 8 a.m. Tuesday.

Debris will be picked up by appointment only. Residents who want to have debris picked up must call 453-2838 before noon on Monday to make arrangements.

The City of Fredericton has a citywide cleanup of smaller debris planned for next week.

Fredericton crews are continuing to remove larger debris from curbside.

NB Power posted a notice Tuesday on its website under the heading After Arthur, advising people concerned about tree debris to consider contacting a tree service company or check with their municipality for any planned curbside cleanup services in the weeks ahead.

"After all customers have been restored, our crews will return to some areas to assess if work is required to prevent future power interruptions for customers in the area," states NB Power on its website.

City of Fredericton Director of Public Safety Wayne Tallon said following a meeting with NB Power officials last week the city endorsed the utility's plan to embark on an aggressive tree-trimming program.

NB Power is devoting more money to its tree-trimming budget. Last year, it was about $4 million. This year, it will spend about $6 million and the amount is to increase to $8 million in the 2015-16 fiscal year.

About 200,000 NB Power customers lost electricity at some point as a result of the storm, with the peak outage at any one time being about 140,000 homes and businesses. The Fredericton region was the hardest hit with about 56,000 customers affected