‘It is going into next week’: N.S. Power continue work to restore electricity on Cape Breton Island

It’s now been one week since post-tropical Fiona hit Atlantic Canada and Eastern Quebec.

In Cape Breton, an area that suffered some of the most extensive damage, many people’s power is finally being restored and things are starting to return to normal.

But there are still startling examples of property damage still unresolved, and some people facing desperate situations.

Even after a week, Richard MacDonald’s Sydney Mines property still has a humongous tree problem.

“The roots, it was like shotgun blasts going off, and then she came down,” MacDonald tells CTV Atlantic.

MacDonald suffered about $60,000 in damage to his property, and he has no insurance. A tree crushed the accessible ramp to his back door, which his daughter depends on.

“It’s the only way in the house,” MacDonald said. “It’s the only door she can fit through. Her chair is extra-wide.”

About 80 per cent of Cape Bretoners now have power back. Though Nova Scotia Power workers are putting in 16-hour days, others still have to wait.

“We’re working from a community level down to a street level, and then ultimately, to individuals,” said Mark Sidebottom with Nova Scotia Power. “So it is going into next week.”