A contractor with NB Power repairs a power line in Fredericton on Dec. 19.Stephen MacGillivray/The Canadian Press
A New Brunswick family that went without power for five days after a wind storm battered the region says they were taken aback by the strength of the gusts that brought down power lines and massive trees and have left more than 1,000 provincial residents facing the prospect of Christmas without electricity.
Kelly Hickey said her family is used to the occasional power outages during storms that come with living near the woods just outside of Saint Andrews, N.B.
“But this storm on Monday was so much bigger and more damaging than anyone around here expected,” she said in an interview Sunday.
Powerful winds battered New Brunswick and Nova Scotia Monday, and officials said more than 100,000 people woke up in New Brunswick on Tuesday morning without power.
NB Power spokeswoman Dominique Couture said 98 per cent of those affected by the storm had seen their electricity restored as of 5 p.m. on Sunday, and about 1,400 remain without power. That figured declined by a further 100 customers over the following hour.
She said the restoration effort for this weather event is one of the largest in the utility’s history.
“We have all hands on deck to restore those final customers,” she said on Sunday evening.
NB Power has been slowly restoring electricity over the week, though the company has noted that at times the process has been slow due to “extensive damage.”
Hickey said that damage is obvious in her region. She said on a drive to visit friends in a neighbouring community, her eight-year old daughter counted 48 trees that had fallen onto power lines.
“Because of the heavy, heavy rains, the grounds were so saturated that the root systems couldn’t hold on like they often do when you get these big storms. So we see these giant trees, trees that are like 300 years old, ripped up and tossed,” she said.
Hickey said she and her family were prepared to lose power for a stretch of time, but they became more anxious for power to be restored as the days dragged on and Christmas crept closer.
“The first night it was really cozy, we played board games by the fire then by the third night, we were thinking we’re kind of getting sick of this now.”
After the first full day without power, Hickey purchased a small generator which they used to power the fridge, freezer and Christmas tree lights.
Power went out at Hickey’s home in the early hours of Monday morning, cutting off access to their running well water. Electricity was restored late Saturday.
When power came back on “We did a jig, yeah it was a jig.” Hickey said.
The celebration was immediately followed by worry that the lights wouldn’t stay on, Hickey said, noting sometimes power will be connected then disconnected during restoration work.
“There was some disbelief, but then it was just like this whole world opened up to us. We are gonna be able to cook a turkey. We are going to be able to make some cookies after all,” she said.
“But then I feel so guilty saying this because I know there are other people who are not in the same boat yet.”
Hickey said she hopes all the remaining customers in the dark get power back before Christmas.
“My heart goes out to them, and I would tell them to let other people help you,” she said. “If someone invites you for Christmas dinner, take them up on it. This is how we’re going to get through these weird times of extreme storms that seem to be getting more and more normal.”