A lot happens behind the scenes in Fredericton to prepare for winter storms like last Tuesday’s, which dumped close to 30 centimetres of snow on the region.
This is especially true for NB Power, who worked to restore power for close to 200 customers in the Fredericton area and around 1,800 customers across the province after Tuesday’s blizzard.
“A major storm doesn’t just affect line workers,” said NB Power spokesperson Megan Gerrish.
Schools, universities and businesses were closed as a result of Tuesday’s blizzard, along with government offices. Major highways, such as the Trans-Canada Highway, were closed, and most of Fredericton felt deserted as snow blew almost as quickly as it fell throughout the day.
Even those without a home are off the street when a storm comes through.
Wayne Maddox, executive director of Fredericton Homeless Shelters Inc., said the main priority is to see that their staff can make it to work.
“We’ve been in this business for 31 years, and we’ve seen our share of storms,” he said.
“As far as our residents are concerned, the only change they would see is that normally we shut the shelter down from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. daily so we can clean up a bit and catch our breath. If the weather is seriously crappy, we don’t shut down.”
Maddox said the shelter doesn’t do the hour-long closure on the coldest days of the winter season either.
“For the most part, we’re really happy to have a full shelter when the weather is terrible,” he said. “It means people aren’t trying to make it on the streets, but they’re in the shelter where it’s safe and warm.”
Gerrish said the weather is something NB Power monitors closely on a daily basis. She said the utility also cooperates with the province’s Emergency Measures Organization and touches base with tradespeople to help prepare for weather events that could affect the power grid.
Gerrish said NB Power is also part of the North Atlantic Mutual Assistance Group, so when power utilities in other provinces are in need, New Brunswick can send crews to help.
“On a day-to-day basis, we help line workers by fueling up trucks and checking on their equipment and resources,” she said.
When the effects of storms on NB Power’s customers vary across the province, she said line crews are dispatched accordingly.
“We also have a storm preparation week in November to make sure New Brunswickers are ready for storms,” said Gerrish. “We encourage customers to ensure their hotlines for NB Power are up to date and take precautions to ensure their families stay safe.”
