'We've just been abandoned': Pictou County residents losing patience after being without power for 10 days

Ten days after post-tropical storm Fiona knocked out trees, roofs and power, much of what came down still needs to be picked up. 

In Nova Scotia's Pictou County, crews are running in repair lines but many people are running out of patience.

“We’ve just been abandoned it feels like,” said Toney River, N.S., resident Sylvie Rosewood, who drove in to Pictou Monday to use power and internet at a comfort centre organized by the New Horizons Club.

Rosewood's house was hit by a tree but she can’t find anyone to move it because it’s tangled in a power line. According to her, private companies have said they can’t tackle it because of the wire, but Nova Scotia Power has said it’s up to homeowners to take care of it.

As of Monday, Rosewood said she hadn’t seen any power crews in her area.

“Where are they? It’s been nine days. Like crazy,” she said.

Down the road in Toney River, Margaret Murray is using her wood stove to stay warm.

Outside, the wind blew down her barn and took with it 3,000 bales of hay. 

She said insurance won’t cover it and now she fears she and her husband will have to sell their cattle.

“We’re only covered by fire,” Murray said. “What was the sense of paying insurance if you’re not going to be covered?"

She’s optimistic power could be back on by mid-week and said someone from Nova Scotia Power called her to say it should be on again then. Even with a positive attitude, the whole experience has been incredibly overwhelming.

“My youngest daughter passed away two years ago and that was desperate hard. And now this has brought everything all back,” she said.

Along the highway between Pictou and Toney River, arborists have come from as far away as Ontario.

"We’ve been regaining access for companies to get machinery in,” said Jacob St. Pierre with Tim Allen’s Tree Service.

From Pictou to Antigonish, N.S., the military is making rounds to check in on people.

"We see you. We’re here for you. We’re working hard to support the government institutions,” said Maj. Stephen Misner, the task force commander for Task Force North Nova Scotia.

Pictou Mayor Jim Ryan notes power in parts of the town is starting to come back on. He said it’s been a trying time for residents.

“I expect it’ll probably be a little while until people are comfortable that the remnants of Fiona have passed,” Ryan said.

Jacqueline Klaus, a spokesperson for Nova Scotia Power, said the company knows how difficult it is to be without power for this long.

“Due to some of the more extreme damage in the hardest hit areas of the province, repairs and restorations in many cases can take several crews and several hours – even up to a day – to complete,” she said.

In Pictou County, the utility has seen the most amount of damage in the coastal areas, including Toney River.

“Damage is due primarily to hundreds of broken poles and downed lines due to falling trees and trees on power lines, as well as a significant number of damaged metre masts in region,” she said.

“These restorations are complex, however, crews are working as quickly as possible to safely restore power to our customers.”