Face of Nation : As of 1:30 p.m., there were 55, 508 customers without electricity — from Yarmouth to Amherst, Halifax, New Glasgow Sydney and areas in between. Most of the outages were caused by high winds and rain.
Nova Scotia Power said crews have been out patrolling the lines, but will be called to stand down if the wind gets too strong. “If it’s unsafe for them to be out there, absolutely,” said Andrea Anderson, a spokeswoman for the power utility.
Anderson said extra crews have been called in from New Brunswick, Ontario and Quebec to help with more anticipated outages from the storm. “We’ve been watching the storm for a number of days and for a number of days we’ve been getting ready,” Anderson said.
Anderson said there are more than 1,000 personnel staged across Nova Scotia including linesmen, forestry crew, damage assessors, engineers, supervisors, communications staff and customer care representatives.
If the power goes out during the storm, power customers can expect a wait if conditions are considered unsafe for service crews. Emergency officials in Halifax said flying debris — flower pots, umbrellas, patio furniture, kids toys — is a big concern with the high winds.
“In Category 1 force winds, those items can become very dangerous … things are going to go flying pretty quickly in 140-150 kilometre per hour winds,” Erica Fleck of Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency said at a news conference on Saturday.
