Power outage for up to 24 hours on Thursday to Friday
On Thursday a cement truck leaving the yard from Beton Cowansville on route 104 ended up getting entangled in Hydro electric wires and the truck was pulled off the road. A photo was posted on the town of Cowansville website. The route 104 between Montee Lebeau and St. Joseph was shut down from late morning to the evening. Police officers were redirecting traffic. Plouffe Road, a dirt road which connects Montee Lebeau to St. Joseph, had a lot of traffic on it during those hours. As the sun was setting, deer were near the road, which was another concern.
Power outages varied. parts of Cowansville,
It affected Brigham,
Dunham, Farnham, Ste. Sabine, and even St. Ignace de Stanbridge. It was good that it was not too cold a day. On Wellington Street the hum of various generators could be heard as the supper hour approached. With the increasing number of power outages in the past few years, more and more people are buying and installing backup generators.
At 5 p.m. on Thursday, November 19, 407 households in Brigham were without power, 305 in Cowansville, 121 in Dunham, 99 in Farnham, 85 in St. Ignace de Stanbridge, and 130 in Ste. Sabine for a total of 1147 households. By early Friday morning all customers had their power restored. But this served as a wake up call to make sure the necessary supplies are on hand. For those without generators, the emergency kit has to be filled out, and kept close to hand. A kit should include a flashlight, candles which have to be carefully monitored, fondue set (to be able to heat liquids and to make a meal), warm jackets and cozy blankets, and a phone charger that can be plugged into the car.
If the power failure is localized, it may be a good idea to order out for a hot meal. Just remember to have reflecting numbers on your house so that the delivery people can see where your house is, if in the dark, so that your food can arrive piping hot!
Ah, the joys of power failures! In Covid-19 times, a temporary inconvenience is nothing compared to the months we have spent under the umbrella of the virus.