City of Moncton officials are describing the ice storm as a “huge event” with large areas still without electricity.
Fire Chief Eric Arsenault says firefighters, public works crews and arborists have been extremely busy over the last 24 hours.
Trees and branches have downed power lines throughout the city and the mess is now being cleaned up.
Arsenault says hospitals were the first priority for power restoration and he adds most large nursing homes have generators and smaller nursing homes have contingency plans in case of emergencies.
The fire chief says the city is working closely with the Red Cross and the opening of warming centres is a possibility by this evening.
Arsenault is encouraging anyone who has power to check on friends and neighbours who don’t to ensure everyone is doing okay.
Moncton City Hall is open for anyone who needs to warm up or charge their electronic devices.
In Riverview, the Coverdale Centre on Runneymeade Road is open from 4 until 10pm so residents can charge devices and pick up refreshments.
A safety reminder is coming from NB Power as well. Spokesperson Paul Doucette says residents are advised to stay away from downed power lines, and do not remove downed trees from power lines.
He says this could prove to be fatal.
This is something that should be left in the hands of NB Power crews. If you see trees on power lines, contact NB Power at 1-800-663-6272 or go to their website and report it.
Never attempt to remove trees near power lines. Direct or indirect contact with a power line can be fatal. #nbstorm
— NB Power (@NB_Power) January 25, 2017
NB Power has eight operational command centres set up in an effort to assist in restoring the electricity to all of the homes in the province.
Doucette says there are 245 crews working currently.
He says in the northern part of the province, they are still experiencing bad weather conditions, and they have to wait until that passes before they can make repairs, and get the lights back on there.
In areas of the province where the #icestorm2017 is still ongoing, restoration efforts are ongoing where it’s safe to do so.
— NB Power (@NB_Power) January 25, 2017
He adds, they are working as quickly as they can.
More photos of #icestorm damage in #Miramichi. #nbstorm pic.twitter.com/cdWMkcGIgT
— NB Power (@NB_Power) January 25, 2017
Premier Brian Gallant will be giving an update on the situation at 3:30 this afternoon.
Watch the news conference live at https://t.co/lTuKl8XEDr or Facebook Live https://t.co/7tfwbcPELS (2/2)
— Government of NB (@Gov_NB) January 25, 2017
