Times Colonist

Nova Scotians regain power after storm

High winds left thousands in dark on Christmas Day

- ADINA BRESGE

Tens of thousands of Nova Scotians were back on the electrical grid Tuesday as crews worked to repair power lines damaged by a major Christmas Day storm in Atlantic Canada.

About 13,000 homes and businesses in Nova Scotia remained without electricit­y as of about 8 p.m. local time, the province’s power utility said.

Nova Scotia Power spokeswoma­n Tiffany Chase said about 139,000 affected customers had their power restored by late Tuesday afternoon.

She said more than 700 personnel were working “around the clock” to get the rest of the province back on the grid, including contract crews from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

The utility estimated that 90 per cent of affected customers would see their power come back on by late Tuesday evening, Chase said, and the remaining isolated outages should be resolved by this afternoon.

“We know it is the holidays and many people have plans for things like turkey dinners,” Chase said. “We do appreciate their patience as our crews continue to safely work to restore power to customers as quickly as possible.”

In total, approximat­ely 158,000 Nova Scotians were affected by the outages, Chase said.

That translates to nearly onethird of the utility’s total of 507,000 customers throughout the province. The province’s south shore, Dartmouth and Sydney were among the areas most affected, she said.

Chase said that as the wind died down, helicopter­s and vehicles were deployed to survey the damage throughout the province, which included downed trees, snapped power lines and damaged utility poles.

The utility has set up four “comfort centres” in Shelburne, Chester, Kentville and Stellarton, where Nova Scotians without power could warm up and charge their devices Tuesday and today.

Chase encouraged homeowners to check their meter masts for damage, which they would be responsibl­e for fixing. The masts must be repaired by an electricia­n before power can be restored.

Paul Mason, executive director of the provincial government’s Emergency Management Office, said aside from the power outages, he was not aware of any reports of major infrastruc­ture damage.

He warned residents who are using generators, barbecues and other gas-powered appliances to beware of the risk of carbonmono­xide poisoning, which killed two people and injured several others during a devastatin­g ice storm in New Brunswick last January that caused widespread power outages for days.

Staff Sgt. Robert Fox of Halifax Regional Police said the city’s major arteries were cleared after downed electrical lines, shattered glass and other debris temporaril­y disrupted traffic.

Fox said he had heard reports of trees crushing cars, a toppled port-a-potty and splintered trunks, but it appeared that property damage in the city has been relatively minor.

Scott Ferro, an amateur woodcrafts­man who lives near Peggy’s Cove, said he and his wife spent eight hours helping their neighbours move boulders, clear brush and chop up trees that were knocked over or partially uprooted by the forceful winds.

Lawn ornaments, patio furniture and Christmas decoration­s were strewn across backyards, Ferro said, and some houses lost shingles and some siding. “It just looks more like chaos than any other real damage,” he said. “I’m leaving [all the firewood] behind for someone else who needs it. I don’t mind doing the hard part.”

Holly Slauenwhit­e in Blockhouse on Nova Scotia’s south shore said she and her two-yearold son were staying with a friend after sleeping off a candlelit Christmas dinner on Monday under layers of blankets in a home without heat or running water.

“It doesn’t feel like Christmas now, I can tell you that much, because you can’t light your Christmas tree,” Slauenwhit­e said. “It was kind of nice having a Christmas dinner without technology in the way, but I’m ready for power.”

 ?? ANDREW VAUGHAN, THE CANADIAN PRESS ?? Wicked winds on Monday downed this row of wooden utility poles in Dartmouth, N.S.
ANDREW VAUGHAN, THE CANADIAN PRESS Wicked winds on Monday downed this row of wooden utility poles in Dartmouth, N.S.

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