Thousands remain without power as cleanup continues in New Brunswick

CTV Atlantic: Thousands remain without power as N.B. cleanup continues Nearly 400 crews were joined by hundreds of soldiers as the fight to reconnect NB Power customers continues. CTV’s Cami Kepke reports.

LAMEQUE, N.B. -- More than 14,000 customers remained without power in New Brunswick on Tuesday, a week after a powerful ice storm devastated parts of the province's northeast.

NB Power says they are dealing with about 1,440 outages in an area stretching from Miscou in the north to West River in the south.

"We're optimistic that soon the vast majority ... will be getting their power back," Premier Brian Gallant said during a news conference in Neguac.

But he warned some people will still be without power through Thursday.

"It's going to be harder and harder," he said. "Getting the last ones (customers) their power ... is more complex, and more one-on-one attention will be needed."

The military was in the area going door-to-door for a second day Tuesday to check on residents, while cleaning debris from streets and delivering goods as the region recovers from the storm that has been linked to two deaths and almost three dozen hospitalizations from carbon monoxide poisoning.

Major Turmel Chiasson said in an interview his 200 troops from Canadian Forces Base Gagetown are spread through Lameque and Miscou islands assisting residents.

The provincial government has asked the Red Cross to do a needs assessment of the most vulnerable cases to determine what types of assistance are required.

Gallant said food banks are stocking up on donations, and he is urging people not to hesitate to throw out food that may have gone bad during the lengthy outage.

He said the province will provide $100,000 to help food banks restock and repair storm damage.

Gallant said he recognized many citizens won't have the means to replace lost food and repair damage to their homes, and the province will provide some disaster relief.

He said families should call their insurance companies to see what they are eligible to receive, but he also encouraged people to keep receipts and contact the province's disaster financial assistance program.

The premier said if people have damage to their homes preventing hookups, the province will provide a list of certified electricians for residents to contact.

Gallant said without repairs carried out by a certified electrician to the hookup masts, NB Power crews can't go ahead with a hookup.