'We are seeing unprecedented damage': Power restoration efforts continue across Nova Scotia
With more than 1,400 people in the field and hundreds more behind the scenes, Nova Scotia Power is continuing its restoration efforts across the province.
“Together with the Canadian Armed Forces, Department of Natural Resources and other support personnel, roads are being cleared and access to hard to reach areas, allowing our crews to get in, ensure the area is safe, prepped and ready to start repairing and rebuilding power lines and poles,” reads a news release from Nova Scotia Power.
The utility says the majority of power line technicians, damage assessors, forestry technicians and field support staff will be in the Halifax Regional Municipality, northeast and Cape Breton regions Wednesday.
“We are seeing unprecedented damage to our poles, lines and equipment due to the hurricane force winds from Fiona and thousands of trees that have fallen,” said Matt Drover, the storm lead with NS Power. “With the support of so many, we continue doing foot patrols, using ATVs and flying drones to reach those off-road areas and hard to reach places.”
The majority of customers are expected to get their power back by Friday, according to the utility company. However, some customers may not have power restored until sometime next week.
“There are still lots of lines and wires down. For your own safety please treat them as if they are energized. Stay back the length of a bus and call us and report it right away (1-877-428-6004),” reads the release.
The utility says about 415,000 customers lost power during Fiona and, as of 6 a.m. Wednesday, more than 310,000 have been restored.
WESTERN (Annapolis Valley/Yarmouth/South Shore)
- The main cause of outages in the western region is trees coming into contact with power lines.
- Over 50,000 customers have been affected in the western region. As of 6 a.m. Wednesday, there are less than 20 customers to be restored.
NORTHEAST (Truro/Pictou/Amherst/Antigonish/Guysborough)
- There are over 500 people on the ground in the northeast region including power line technicians, forestry technicians and damage assessors.
- Damage in this region is due primarily to broken poles and downed lines due to falling trees, trees on power lines, and trees on roads limiting access and making travel difficult for crews.
- About 90,000 customers have been affected in this region. As of 6 a.m. Wednesday, 59 per cent of customers in the northeast have been restored.
HRM (Halifax/Dartmouth/Sackville/Bedford/Windsor/Musquodoboit/Chester)
- There are over 400 people on the ground in this region including power line technicians, forestry technicians and damage assessors.
- Damage in HRM is due primarily to trees coming into contact with power lines, downed lines due to falling trees and trees on roads limiting and making travel difficult for crews.
- About 210,000 customers have been affected in this region. As of 6 a.m. Wednesday, 96 per cent of customers in HRM have been restored.
CAPE BRETON
- There are over 500 people on the ground in Cape Breton including powerline technicians, forestry technicians and damage assessors.
- The Canadian Armed Forces and Department of Natural Resources personnel are also on the ground in Cape Breton helping crews remove trees and brush and running supplies.
- Damage in Cape Breton is due primarily to hundreds of broken poles and downed lines due to falling trees, trees on power lines, washed out roads limiting access and making it difficult for crews to move around.
- More than 65,000 customers have been affected in this region. As of 6 a.m. Wednesday, 61 per cent of customers in Cape Breton have been restored.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.