5 days after Fiona struck P.E.I., 52,000 Maritime Electric clients still in dark

About two-thirds of P.E.I. homes and businesses served by Maritime Electric are still without power five days after the arrival of post-tropical storm Fionaand the utility is still not providing an estimate of when everyone will be hooked back up.

As of Wednesday at 7 p.m. AT, power had been restored to about 30,000 Maritime Electric customers, CEO Jason Roberts said in a video message posted on Twitter. That leaves about 52,000homes and businesses still in the dark after day five of the outage.

By comparison, almost all the 7,000 customers served by Summerside's city utility have gotten power back, in apart of the province that experienced less damage from the severe storm.

Utility spokesperson Kim Griffin said at a briefing Wednesday that 125 power crews are at work with another 31onthe way trying to replace 488 power poles that were damagedas a direct result of the storm. She said Maritime Electric's parent company Fortis has provided access to crews in Newfoundland and Ontario, and to Fortis leadership in Alberta.

Griffin added that Maritime Electric does have enough new poles to replace all those that were knocked down.

Griffin broke down the homes and businesses without power by region and percentage:

• 48 per cent of customers in western P.E.I.
• 57 per cent of customers in Charlottetown.
• 81 per cent of customersin central parts of the Island.
• 82 per cent of customers in eastern P.E.I.

Despite the large number of customers still without power, Griffin said crews are feeling optimistic about progress being made.

Military on P.E.I. to assist with post-Fiona recovery

2 years ago

Duration 2:16

Members of the Canadian Armed Forces arrived on P.E.I. this week to help provincial crews with Fiona cleanup efforts. CBC's Brian Higgins spoke with some of the personnel on the ground.

Again on Wednesday, Griffin asked Islanders to be extremely careful as restoration efforts continue.

"Please do your best and stay away from power poles as much as possible as they get re-energized," said Griffin. "This could be a very tragic event if you are near them."

Maritime Electric still won't give any estimates on when power will be fully restored, but Griffin said she is hoping to be able to do that on Thursday or Friday.

EMO echoes safety concerns

Tanya Mullally, the director responsible for the P.E.I. Emergency Measures Organization, was also urging caution to Islanders on Wednesday, asking them to be careful around power lines, and to use generators and barbecues safely.

She says fire departments across the province have been asking them to reinforce this message.

"This is critical," she said.

"We understand that as power remains out, people are going to start to pivot to wanting to either purchase generators or they're running them longer.So we really can't reinforce enough how important it is to make sure that you're running them properly and safely, making sure that you're not putting them next to windows ... they need to be outdoors not in any indoor space or near a window what would allow fumes to get into the home," she said.

Mullally said the same goes for barbecues they should not be inside in any way.

Garbage services resume Thursday

The province announced that Island Waste Management will re-open all of its waste drop-off centres Thursday with extended hours. Drop-off fees will be waived for Islanders disposing of food spoiled by the power outages.

Curbside collections will also resume on Thursday to all accessible areas.

Mullallyreminded Islanders on Wednesday ofthe importance of food safety.

"It's important that if food hasn't been able to be refrigerated for 24 hours, that you need to be throwing it out," she said.

Mullally said if it's possible to do safely, food should be separated from its containers and placed in the green bins. But if it's not possible to do that safely, to place it in the black bins.

As for tree debris, the province has posted a map of sites on private land where people can drop off trees and branches downed by the storm.

The government has also compiled a listof nearly 50 reception centres now open across Prince Edward Island, including their contact information, hours of operation, and what services they are offering.

Groups offering aid

Meanwhile, the Canadian Red Cross is urging Prince EdwardIslanders who need help in the aftermath of the storm to register.

Bill Lawlor, provincial director for P.E.I. and New Brunswick, said even in a closely knit province like P.E.I. there are people with health and housing challenges who are isolated.

"We tend to think that's not the case. You know, 'Everybody knows everybody;it's a nice, friendly atmosphere, friendly province,'" said Lawlor.

Finding isolated people who need help can be a challenge. The Red Cross is working with provincial officials to identify them and dowellness checks. Even afterthose people are contacted, it can be difficult to determine their needs, Lawlor said.

"You find that someone who says they're fine, [but] they haven't eaten for a day. They don't know where they're going to get their next meal," he said.

Islanders who need assistance, even if they are just feeling isolated and would like a wellness check, can register with the Red Cross online or by calling 1-800-863-6582

P.E.I. Ground Search and Rescue is also travelling across the province, knocking on doors to see whether people are OK.

The charity Samaritan's Purse Canada arrived on P.E.I. Monday night and began setting up a headquarters to provide assistance to Islanders.

Seventeen team leaders are on the Island, and they will organize groups of local volunteers to help people clear trees from their properties.

An aerial view of Fiona's path of destruction in P.E.I.

2 years ago

Duration 0:53

This drone footage gathered by CBC video producer Shane Hennessey on Sunday shows the extensive damage caused by post-tropical storm Fiona in parts of the Island.

Tammy Suitor, Canadian disaster relief manager for the group, said fallen trees are not generally covered by insurance unless they are lying on a house or other insured building.

"People that are uninsured, and uninsurable losseslike the trees in your yard, is what we want to come in and help with," said Suitor.

In addition to clearing trees, the teams will also tarp roofs to keep homes dry until more permanent repairs can be made.

Islanders looking for help can call 1-844-547-2663.

Suitor expects the group will be active on the Island for many weeks.