Soldiers have descended on New Brunswick neighbourhoods in a bid to help residents who lost power during an ice storm last week.
Roughly 200 troops from Canadian Forces Base Gagetown have teamed up with utility workers to clean up fallen electricity poles and downed wires that are currently affecting 14,000 customers.
"We're optimistic that soon the vast majority ... will be getting their power back," Premier Brian Gallant said during a news conference in Neguac.
Homes in Pidgeon Hill, N.B. were particularly hard hit. Roughly 40 electricity poles are still down, and residents haven't had power in a week.
"I'm going to be very lucky I think if we get [electricity] back in four or five days," said Raymond Laroque, a home owner.
40+ poles down in Pidgeon Hill NB means a week without power will stretch many more days.
— Todd Battis (@battisctv)
Fluid from electrical transformers is everywhere in northern NB where power lines are down.
— Todd Battis (@battisctv)
Blown transformers still litter driveways in the region, with their fluid staining the snow.
Four hundred poles in the region need to be replaced, but the head of NB Power -- the provincial electricity provider -- is rejecting claims that infrastructure across the province was in need of replacement.
"A lot of the poles were still really solid," said Gaetan Thomas, NB Power's CEO. "Thousands of poles withstood the weight of ice three to four times what it was designed for."
With a report from CTV’s Todd Battis and files from The Canadian Press
