More than 7,000 New Brunswickers without power

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More than 7,000 NB Power customers were in the dark on Tuesday morning, but whether it’s related to post-tropical storm Lee is unclear.

According to the utility’s website, the outages are mainly in Kings and Queens counties, and Central York-Sunbury.

The 6,370 customers without power in Kings/Queens include residents in Anagance, Berryton, Cornhill, Elgin, Forest Glen, Glenvale, Hillgrove, Intervale, Knightville, Little River Albert Co, Parkindale, Petitcodiac, Petitcodiac East, Pollett River, Portage Vale, Prosser Brook, River Glade, Salisbury West, Second North River, The Glades, Wheaton Settlement, Apohaqui, Berwick, Carsonville, Coles Island Queens Co, Collina, Dubee Settlement, Head Of Millstream, Jordan Mountain, Kierstead Mountain, Knightville, Lower Millstream, Mount Hebron, Mount Pisgah, Mt Middleton, Newtown, Parleeville, Perry Settlement, Pleasant-Ridge-Kgs, Plumweseep, Roachville, Searsville, Smiths Creek, Snider Mountain, Summerfield Kings Co, Sussex, Whites Mountain, Apohaqui, Drurys Cove, Dunsinane, Erb Settlement, Four Corners, Fundy National Park, Lower Cove, Mechanic Settlement, Moosehorn Creek, Penobsquis, Picadilly, Plumweseep, Portage Vale, Ratter Corner, Riverbank South, Smiths Creek, South Branch Kings Co, Southfield, Springdale, Sussex, Sussex Corner, Wheaton Settlement, and Whites Mountain.

The 836 customers without power in Central York-Sunbury include Cumberland Bay, Douglas Harbour, Scotchtown, Durham Bridge, Killarney Road, Nashwaak Village, Taymouth, Porter Cove, and Taxis River.

There are also 262 customers without power in Charlotte Southwest, including residents in Back Bay, Bonny River, Canal, Lee Settlement, Second Falls, Elmsville, and Harvey York Co.

All outages are listed as “unplanned,” “tree or vegetation,” or “weather conditions.”

Lee brought high winds and torrential rain to the province Saturday, resulting in downed trees, damaged buildings, flooded streets and large waves in the Bay of Fundy. The provincial government issued a news release Sunday saying wind gusts up to 85 km/h, and rainfall amounts up to 121 millimetres, were reported.

About 90,000 NB Power customers were impacted by outages throughout the weekend. As of late Monday afternoon, 351 customers, primarily in the Fredericton and Saint John regions, remained without power.

“We anticipate that all customers impacted by this weekend’s weather will have their power restored by tonight,” NB Power said in a statement Monday morning.

“Our teams are still focused on restoration and our Emergency Operations Centre remains open as we approach the finish line of this storm event.”

The Insurance Bureau of Canada said Monday it was “too early to provide an accurate picture of insured loss estimates or number of insurance claims for this severe weather event.”

“Our hearts go out to every resident and homeowner who has been affected by Hurricane Lee,” said Graham Little, interim vice-president of IBC for the Atlantic region. “The priority right now is ensuring the safety of all the Atlantic Canadians who were affected by this storm.”

About 700 NB Power workers were tasked with restoration efforts Saturday, while Saint John Energy had all of its available power line technicians and contract crews on standby.

At the height of the storm, 1,500 Saint John Energy customers were without power for a maximum of 30 minutes, according to Jessica DeLong, manager of stakeholder relations for the utility.

“We did not have any broken poles and mainly large limbs and trees bringing a few wires down,” she said in an email.

On Sunday, Kyle Leavitt, director of the New Brunswick Emergency Measures Organization, said the province’s efforts were shifting toward assessing the storm’s impact. He asked for the public’s co-operation as damages and restoration needs are evaluated.

Crews worked in the Moncton, Saint John, and Fredericton areas to clear roads of trees and debris Sunday. Several road closures were reported by the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure over the course of the weekend.

Financial assistance not expected

Based on initial information from communities, the province said in a press release that damages to infrastructure and properties are “light,” and disaster financial assistance isn’t expected.

“Wind and surface flooding are insurable losses,” the release states. “Impacted individuals should contact their insurance providers to report damage.”

As part of cleanup, and when submitting insurance claims, people are also encouraged to take photos of damage to their homes or properties, keep receipts of any repairs and replacement purchases, and log the number of hours of work undertaken for anyone cleaning their own properties or who has family members helping tidy up properties.

Other precautions in the release from the province include not running generators in homes, garages, or near windows or air intakes to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning, ensuring food safety for any items left in fridges or freezers, and testing well water for the presence of bacteria and chemical contamination.

Storm moves past province

By Sunday morning, Lee had begun to move on. While a tropical cyclone statement was still in effect for the whole province, only the northeast was under a rainfall warning.

The rain was expected to ease as the day went on.

Sunday’s respite came after a wild Saturday across the province.

According to EMO, most parts of the province saw peak wind speeds of between 60 and 80 km/h on Saturday. But it was much stronger on the Fundy coast, with speeds in excess of 100 km/h recorded. Rainfall from 50 to 120 millimetres was being forecast, and in southern and central New Brunswick, the downpours were torrential.

About 700 NB Power workers were involved in restoration efforts Saturday morning as the storm rolled through the province.

Some of the day’s major events included:

• Rolling power outages, which began early Saturday. As of 4:30 p.m., more than 31,500 NB Power customers had no power, down from a high in the 40,000s earlier in the day. Most were in the province’s centre and southwest;

• The cancellation of flights and ferry crossings in and out of New Brunswick, and;

• The closure of some roads after debris from trees made them impassable.

In Saint John, Mayor Donna Reardon said some trees at Kings Square had fallen down, “and we’ve had other trees down in other parts of the city.”

Reardon added that several agencies across the city had been working throughout the day Saturday and leading up to the storm’s arrival to ensure the city’s unhoused population could find shelter from the rain and wind.

“There are a lot of contingency plans in place,” she said. “We can roll things out as needed.”

In Saint Andrews on Saturday morning, Mayor Brad Henderson said “many” were without power, including in the downtown core.

“We are getting through it though,” he said in a message.

In Fredericton, Lee damaged buildings and cars, downed trees, cut power and left debris on the streets.

In New Maryland, the metal underside of the roof of the Irving gas station peeled off in the wind, and eventually a huge chunk tore off, sliding away. Another piece of dangling metal narrowly missed a man vainly trying to enter the store.

On the other side of the river, several large trees and branches came down in Devon, Nashwaaksis, and St. Mary’s First Nation.

Just after 1 p.m., Devon resident Tanya Pitre was surveying the damage done to her beloved Mitsubishi RVR, which she’d only paid off a couple of weeks ago. It was buried under a tree that had fallen from a front yard across the street.

In Moncton, some locals greeted the incoming with a shrug, treating it as business as usual.

The downtown market was open, but a couple of booth operators put up signs that they wouldn’t be there. A giant yard sale inside the Moncton Coliseum went ahead as scheduled, but was also quiet.

The Shediac region, which was hit hard by Hurricane Dorian in 2019 and Hurricane Fiona in 2022, saw some wind and rain but no obvious damage Saturday morning. At the Pointe du Chene Wharf, the scene of major damage a year ago, buildings were covered with plywood and most boats have been removed from the water. High tide arrived at the wharf at mid-morning, with large waves crashing against the shore.

– With files from Brice McVicar, Ted Rath, Andrew Bates, Alan Cochrane, and Barbara Simpson

More to come …