Thousands without power as heavy winds blow through New Brunswick
Bulk of outages located in western New Brunswick
Thousands of NB Power customers lost power Wednesday after strong winds battered the province.
Outages, which peaked at more than 22,000 in the afternoon, are scattered across New Brunswick, but the bulk are found in western and southern areas.
The number of outages have steadily dropped throughout the evening. As of 10 p.m., there were more than 9,200 outages in total.
About 2,700 customers in Victoria and Madawaska counties have lost power and 1,700 more to the south in Carleton County. In the Kennebecasis Valley region, more than 2,000 are without electricity.
There are also widespread outages, roughly 800, in and around Fredericton and more than 1,200 throughout Restigouche County in northern New Brunswick.
NB Power spokesperson Marc Belliveau said the strong gusts are behind the outages.
Strong winds have resulted in scattered outages in the province. Be sure to check <a href="https://t.co/qyGRAtW91T">https://t.co/qyGRAtW91T</a> for restoration estimates. <a href="https://t.co/UHXl0AXT0a">pic.twitter.com/UHXl0AXT0a</a>
—@NB_Power"This time of year, when there is still quite a bit of leaves on the trees, gusty winds make them act like sails, and they will touch our wires and cause outages," Belliveau said in an email to CBC News.
"Our crews are out and will be addressing the outages as quickly and safely as possible."
He directed customers to the utility's website for estimated repair times, saying "they will vary depending on the complexity of the repairs."