New Brunswick crews make headway restoring power
CBC News | Posted: December 29, 2013 5:16 PM | Last Updated: December 29, 2013
NB Power reports fewer than 7,000 customers are still without electricity
Crews working to restore power to thousands of New Brunswickers managed to cut the number of customers without electricity to fewer than 7,000 over the course of Sunday.
NB Power workers will get a hand from 40 crews arriving Sunday from northeastern United States, along with crews from Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Quebec already in the province.
NB Power spokesman Brent Staeben says out-of-province crews are being split between the St. Stephen area and the Rothesay region.
But as workers make progress, another winter storm looms. The storm is set to hit overnight, bringing snow and then freezing rain or rain to areas still without power.
The New Brunswick Emergency Measures Organization is urging people to prepare for the storm, which could add significant weight to trees already burdened by ice buildup.
Homeowners are advised to have plenty of water, food, batteries, a battery-powered radio, along with any particular necessities like infant formula.
The organization says people should monitor rooftops for snow buildup. Drivers should not get on the roads without an emergency kit.
Some New Brunswickers are now into their seventh day without power. One of them is Howard Haines, who lives in Hardings Point on the Kingston Peninsula and has been without electricity since Dec. 23.
He said many roads in his area are more like tunnels, with trees bent down under the weight of snow and ice.
"The trees across the road there, thousands, right over, you can barely drive down the centre lane of the road and you've got to fit your way around the tops of the trees," he said.
"I'm not talking about a couple of clumps, I'm talking the whole road."
Haines said he’s been making do by cooking meals over his wood stove.