HALIFAX -- Tens of thousands of people were still without power in the Maritimes on Monday as the cleanup following post-tropical storm Arthur continued.
About 86,000 customers of the utility in New Brunswick were still without electricity late Monday morning, while Nova Scotia Power said more than 40,000 of its customers didn't have power -- and restoration of power in some areas would have to wait until Thursday.
All New Brunswick government offices in the Fredericton area were closed due to power outages caused by the storm. The city was among the hardest hit areas over the weekend.
Arthur lost its hurricane status just before hitting the Maritimes, but it still packed a brutal punch, with heavy rain and strong winds that toppled trees and knocked out power for more than 250,000 customers at the height of the storm.
NB Power spokesman Meghan Gerrish said more than 200 crews were working to restore power Monday, including teams from Quebec and others headed to New Brunswick from Maine.
Gerrish said the utility expected to have the bulk of the 86,000 without power back online by Wednesday night, but roughly 17,000 customers would have to wait until the weekend.
"The damage that this post-tropical storm Arthur has left in New Brunswick is phenomenal," said Gerrish. "There's huge, century-old trees -- like you can't get your arms around them -- down on our infrastructure and ... there's a significant amount of work that has to take place to even get to some of these locations."
Gerrish said parts of the utility's 7,000-kilometres of transmission lines have also been damaged. She said helicopter crews have been dispatched to find damaged spots.
"We're working as fast as we can to get everybody back online," she said.
Wayne Tallon, a spokesman the City of Fredericton, said it will take weeks to clean up downed trees in the city.
"I've been talking to some of our folks that have been around for 40 years and nobody's ever seen anything this bad," he said.
Tallon said about 2,000 trees were damaged during the storm. The city normally takes down about 420 trees a year, he said.
Reception centres have been opened in Fredericton and nearby Oromocto to allow residents to charge their cellphones and other electronic devices. Crews in Fredericton were also working to set up generators at intersections to control traffic lights.
Tallon said fire crews responded to more than 300 reports of electrical fires on Saturday, most related to downed trees on power lines.
The province's Emergency Measures Organization issued a statement Monday afternoon saying telecommunications crews were repairing damaged cellphone networks.
"Power to gas stations and grocery stores is being restored as a priority," the organization said in a statement. "The New Brunswick Emergency Measures Organization is asking for the public to remain calm and patient as work continues, which will take an extended period of time."
The organization said residents should allow emergency responders to have priority at gas stations, where lineups have been reported.
As well, residents were being asked not to burn debris left over from the storm as it "creates a potentially greater fire hazard and can affect air quality."
The provincial government is also telling those still without power not to open their freezers because frozen foods will stay that way for up to 36 hours.
