'No power, no heat': Tens of thousands of Nova Scotians still without electricity
In Halifax, the sound of generators has been breaking the quiet after the storm, as thousands of residents remain without electricity in the wake of Fiona.
Gerry Dunphy bought his generator last year but didn’t use it. Now, he says it’s been running full tilt since Friday night.
“I’m running a couple TVs, the fridge. I can't run the phone because that's not working, the lines are down,” said Dunphy.
According to Nova Scotia Power’s live power outage map, estimated restoration times for affected customers range anywhere from Sunday night to Wednesday.
“We have no power, we have no heat,” says Christine Barbour. She was counting on her fireplace to keep the evening chill at bay. Fiona took care of that.
“It was scary Friday night,” she says. “I heard the big branch crack…and then we heard the rumbling and more branches, and that's probably when it knocked the chimney off the roof, onto my neighbour's car.”
On Willow Street in central Halifax, a large, downed oak tree did a number on power lines, ripping the power masts off several houses.
It’s the third time Rob MacNeish’s property has been left powerless by the same tree.
The last time was during Dorian in 2019, which knocked out his power for ten days, even after his neighbours were reconnected after three.
He’s been asking the city to cut the tree down since then.
Fiona did it instead.
As he did last time, MacNeish says now it will likely cost him up to $1,000 in repair and reconnection fees to get back on the grid.
“I understand that it's a low priority, we're one family, one unit. But for it to happen again, and us to try to prevent it, it's kind of frustrating,” he says.
Sunday afternoon, a crew of emergency volunteers from across the country came to assess the tree and the damage it caused.
The members of Team Rubicon were equipped with chainsaws and safety equipment to clear trees from roads, but team leader Jeff Becker says the job on Willow Street will take a bit more than that.
Part of the group’s job also includes assessing the work needed for emergency organizations.
“We're logging the information and passing it back through our chain which eventually would go to, in this case, Nova Scotia Power,” he says.
On top of the significant damage caused by Fiona’s winds, several transformers were captured on video exploding in the Halifax area during the storm. There are also several reports of power poles catching fire.
Nova Scotia Power’s storm lead says the damage is widespread and will take days to fix in some parts of the province.
“In some locations, we have whole streets where trees have come down and broken almost every pole along that street,” says Matt Drover. “We're using all those crews [brought in] to make sure we can get those poles fixed as soon as possible.”
The wait for power means many residents are doing what they can.
Without power, chef and restaurant owner Claudia Pinto improvised to keep her business going while using up the food in her freezer at the same time.
“I have charcoal, I have my BBQ, and I have all the yummy food,” she says. “So I thought, ‘why don't I do the charcoal BBQ?’”
The sizzle of the meat on the grill, heard alongside the hum of generators, in Nova Scotia’s largest city.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canadian gov't proposes new foreign influence registry as part of wide-spanning new bill
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government is proposing a suite of new measures and law changes aimed at countering foreign interference in Canada, amid extensive scrutiny over past meddling attempts and an ever-evolving threat landscape.
Boeing Starliner capsule's first crewed test flight postponed
The long-awaited first crewed test flight of Boeing's new Starliner space capsule was called off for at least 24 hours over a technical issue that launch teams were unable to resolve in time for the planned Monday night lift-off.
Teacher charged in historical sexual assault of Calgary teenage girl
Calgary police have charged a teacher with the alleged sexual assault of a teenage girl more than 20 years ago.
Winnipeg man admits to killing four women, argues he's not criminally responsible
Defence lawyers of Jeremy Skibicki have admitted in court the accused killed four Indigenous women, but argues he is not criminally responsible for the deaths by way of mental disorder – this latest development has triggered a judge-alone trial rather than a jury trial.
Man banned from owning animals after fatal Calgary dog attack
The owner of three Calgary dogs that got loose and mauled a woman to death in 2022 has been ordered to pay a $15,000 fine within one year and banned from owning any animal for 15 years.
East-end Ottawa family dealing with massive rat infestation
Residents in Ottawa’s Elmridge Gardens complex are dealing with a rat infestation that just won’t go away. Now, after doing everything they can to try to fix the issue, they are pleading with the city to step in and help.
Mediterranean staple may lower your risk of death from dementia, study finds
A daily spoonful of olive oil could lower your risk of dying from dementia, according to a new study by Harvard scientists.
An El Nino-less summer is coming. Here's what that could mean for Canada
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
Newfoundland and Labrador latest province to tighten rules on Airbnbs
Newfoundland and Labrador is the latest jurisdiction to bring in stricter rules for short-term rentals, with a coming set of regulations that will force operators to register with the provincial government.