HALIFAX -- It was another day in the dark Tuesday for tens of thousands of Maritimers as power companies insisted they were doing everything possible to restore electricity three days after post-tropical storm Arthur tore through the region.
Most of the trouble was in New Brunswick, where more than 63,000 customers were still without power as of 11:30 a.m. More than half of those outages were in the Fredericton area.
NB Power spokeswoman Meghan Gerrish said 230 crews, including workers from Quebec and Maine, were on the ground trying to fix widespread damage. Repairs were taking place "around the clock," she said.
She added the utility hoped to have most power restored Wednesday, though it could be the weekend before all the lights are back on.
"We know this is hard on people, there's no doubt about it," said Gerrish, who was without power until early Tuesday. "It's a difficult time. We've had three major storms in seven months and it's frustrating for people."
Gerrish said crews were targeting areas where there are safety concerns or health needs, including customers with oxygen devices.
Customers were being patient throughout the ordeal, she said.
"There's a lot of great community spirit happening, neighbours checking on neighbours, sharing their power and sharing their food which is extraordinary to see."
Arthur packed a wet and windy wallop when it hit the Maritimes, toppling trees and knocking out power for more than 250,000 customers at the height of the storm.
In Nova Scotia, about 16,000 customers were still without power at around 11 a.m. Tuesday, down from 50,000 the day before.
Nova Scotia Power said it hoped to restore electricity in central and eastern parts of the province by Thursday. Customers living in western areas could be without electricity until Friday.
Some customers took to Twitter to thank the utility for its efforts to restore power while others vented their frustrations.
"I can understand why it would take long 2 fix but it's frustrating when more than 1/2 my st. was fixed and the rest.. forgotten!" tweeted Cara Trahan.
Nova Scotia Power said the damage caused by Arthur's punishing winds was as bad what hurricane Juan left behind in 2003 and it urged customers to let crews do their work.
"Our priority is to restore power as quickly as we safely can," the utility tweeted. "Stay away from downed wires (and) do not attempt to free the line on your own."
