About 30 customers in the area surrounding Old Kettle Road outside Mill Village awoke without power this morning.

That will likely mark the start of what is predicted to be a very busy weekend for Nova Scotia Power crews as Hurricane Fiona prepares to make landfall early Saturday morning.

Chief Operating Officer with Nova Scotia Power Dave Pickles says the utility has learned from previous storms and is taking measures to ensure fewer outages and faster restore times.

“Having the right level of resources and properly located around the province for where we expect to see the most damage,” said Pickles.

He says the combination of leaves on the trees and soft ground could mean more downed trees and a larger number of power outages and that restoration efforts will be at the mercy of the weather.

“There will be a want to get out there very quickly. This event is expected to start late Friday into Saturday morning, but sustained winds will continue throughout the day. That will make it a little bit tough for us to get out when people want us to get out,” said Pickles. “The weather on Sunday is forecasting to be nice so that will help with restoration efforts. But, yeah, there are many challenges.”

Pickles says Nova Scotia Power currently has 800 personnel ready to respond and are prepared to ask neighbouring provinces for assistance if the need arises.

Any outages should be reported through the NS Power outage map or by calling 1-877-428-6004 and people should monitor the map for restoration times.

Officials from all levels of government and Emergency Management Office are warning Nova Scotians to prepare to be without power for 72 hours and to stock up on items such as water, batteries, candles and food.

E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

To listen to the broadcast of this story, press play below.