Fiona knocks out power to hundreds of thousands

Hundreds of thousands of Nova Scotians either went to bed without electricity, or lost it by the time they woke up Saturday.

As of 11:45 a.m., Nova Scotia Power's outage website shows over 400,000 customers are without power.

The utility says its over 800 powerline technicians, forestry technicians and damage assessors have encountered “significant impacts” from Fiona, including uprooted trees, broken poles and downed power lines.

“The safety of our customers and crews is our priority right now,” said Nova Scotia Power president and CEO Peter Gregg in a news release. “We are seeing significant damage as Fiona moves across the province and it’s important to remember it isn’t over yet. Our crews will be restoring power as quickly as possible, once it is safe to do so.”

Crews were able to safely start restoring power in the western part of the province overnight, but winds need to be under 80 km/h for them to safely go up in buckets.

If you come across downed wires, stay away and report it by calling 1-877-428-6004.

Haligonians are being asked to avoid non-essential driving, but if you need to go out, keep in mind there are many downed trees blocking roads, and several intersections with traffic lights that aren't working.

Those intersections need to be treated as all-way stops.