Maritime line workers help U.S. recover from Hurricane Helene
Hundreds of Canadian line workers and technicians spent the past week in the United States helping restore power to hundreds of thousands of customers affected by Hurricane Helene.
Holland Power Services, an electric repair company with locations across the U.S. and Canada, have more than 700 Canadian workers helping to restore power, including roughly 250 workers from New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island spread across 81 crews.
Crews have been working 16-hour days and the locals have been grateful.
“It's been an amazing experience,” says Steven Hansen, vice-president of operations for Holland Power Services. “They're the ones that are suffering. We are here to help, but they're doing everything they can to make us not only feel welcome, but to be part of the community and to be embraced by them.”
Hansen says locals have given him and his Maritime crews handwritten thank you cards, warm cups of coffee, and even a stack of pizzas for their efforts.
He says crews have had no complaints about working long days, with everyone doing what they can to restore power as quickly as possible. Hansen hopes only around 100,000 customers will be still in the dark by the end of the weekend.
“In large scale events like this, you need to bring in private contractors, you need to bring people from across the borders,” says Hansen. “It's just the way that the community has to band together because the scale of damage is beyond any one entity trying to work on it on its own.”
Hansen says some Maritime crews should be able to make their way back home by next week.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'It’s a dream come true': Holt, Liberal cabinet sworn-in to office
Susan Holt, the province's first female premier, and 18 cabinet ministers took the oath of office in the chamber of the legislative assembly.
Alberta Premier Smith gets 91 per cent support in leadership review
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith received a dominating 91.5 per cent vote of support from her United Conservative Party members in a scheduled leadership review vote on Saturday.
Live from New York: Harris making surprise 'Saturday Night Live' appearance with election looming
U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris has made an unannounced trip to New York to appear on an episode of 'Saturday Night Live,' briefly stepping away from the battleground states she’s been campaigning in with just three days to go before the election.
Multiple RTDNA wins for CTV News, including 2 for W5
CTV News won four national news awards and a local news award from RTDNA Canada, the organization announced Saturday night at a gala event in Toronto.
2 people charged in Toronto incident that left police horse and officer injured were out on bail, police say
The driver of a pickup truck who allegedly struck a police horse and rammed several cruisers on Queen Street West on Friday afternoon was out on bail at the time of the incident, Toronto police say.
Here's what you can buy for $729,000 in 8 Ottawa neighbourhoods
CTVNewsOttawa.ca looks at what you can buy for the average Ottawa home price of $729,000 in eight Ottawa neighbourhoods.
Calgary police issue warning after receiving over 150 calls relating to personal fireworks
Calgary police issued a media statement Saturday reminding residents about the rules regarding personal fireworks after receiving over 150 complaints.
Florida's convicted killer clown released from prison for the murder of her husband's then-wife
A woman who pleaded guilty to dressing as a clown and in 1990 murdering the wife of a man she later married was released from prison on Saturday.
Vancouver quietly proclaimed Chip Wilson Day as billionaire installed sign calling B.C. NDP 'communist'
On the same day Chip Wilson erected a controversial sign at his Vancouver mansion, the city was quietly honouring the billionaire and his wife.