Post-tropical storm Fiona: What's open and closed on P.E.I. Tuesday
Post-tropical storm Fiona hit P.E.I. hard overnight Friday into Saturday. Widespread cellular and internet outages have made it difficult to reach most businesses across the Island to see if they are open yet.
But on Tuesday morning, more and more essential businesses like grocery stores, pharmacies and gas stations were open in areas where power had been restored. Lineups for gas were noticeably shorter than they were on Monday.
However, officials still want drivers to stay off the roads as much as possible, to conserve gas for emergency responders and people needing to refill generators and chainsaws, and to let power, public works and military crews do their tree-cutting job without having to cope with passing cars. Most traffic lights on the Island are still out of operation, as well.
Essential supplies such as generators, chainsaws, gas cans, batteries and propane have been hard to come by. Canadian Tire in Charlottetown told CBC News it did receive delivery of some of these supplies overnight Monday, including chainsaws, gas cans, and small propane cylinders for camp stoves. Owner Cam Beach said he expects these to go quickly, however.
Home Depot said it is expecting a large shipment of generators Wednesday, but does not yet know when other essential supplies might arrive.
Outages
Summerside Electric, the utility serving about 7,000 customers in P.E.I.'s second city, is reporting about 90 per cent of customers restored. The small pockets of outages remaining could take days to restore, the utility estimates.
Canada Post
Mail delivery is suspended again Tuesday, but Brian Hurley, local area manager with Canada Post, said delivery will resume Wednesday.
That service will be limited by any safety issues, however.
"The safety of our employees is paramount, with power lines down and so forth, so we're going to be asking them to be extremely cautious," said Hurley. "But we recognize that people need CPP cheques, Old Age Security, and so forth. It's going to be best attempt."
Hurley said mail trucks did arrive from out of province Monday, and workers are back in the depots Tuesday doing sorting.
Health
Health P.E.I. said COVID-19 testing clinics will reopen Tuesday in Charlottetown, O'Leary and Montague. The Slemon Park clinic will remain closed due to structural damage.
Electricity has been restored at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Charlottetown, but call ahead regarding any appointments to make sure the procedures are being offered. Hemodialysis will be available as scheduled.
Electricity has also been restored at all other Island hospitals except for Souris, as of midmorning Tuesday.
Garbage services
All Island Waste Management Corporation curbside collections remain cancelled. Dropoff sites will reopen on Thursday. Note that the province is asking people who are cleaning up to keep debris at least three metres from the curb and away from any power poles or lines. It should not be placed in ditches, on the road, or around culverts.
Summerside residents were allowed to bring tree, branch and brush debris to the public dump off Compton Road as of Tuesday at 10 a.m. No garbage will be accepted.
Kensington says residents can drop off tree debris only at the Town Maintenance Shop site.
Travel and transit
T3 Transit will be operating its Saturday service on Tuesday for the communities of Charlottetown, Cornwall and Stratford. There will be no service in Summerside or rural areas. Further updates will be announced Wednesday.
Maritime Bus had resumed full service across the region.
Confederation Bridge: Open to all traffic.
Ferries: Northumberland Ferries has cancelled the following Tuesday crossings in order to repair minor damage sustained by MV Saaremaa during the storm: the 11:30 a.m., 3:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. crossings leaving from Wood Islands, P.E.I., and the 9:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 5:15 p.m. crossings leaving from Caribou, N.S. All other departures on Tuesday will proceed as scheduled.
Education
Public schools across the Island will be closed until at least Tuesday, with a further announcement expected that day.
The University of Prince Edward Island campuses in Charlottetown and St. Peters will stay closed until Monday, Oct. 3. All classes, labs, and on-campus events are cancelled. "AVC Veterinary Teaching Hospital will remain open for emergencies. AVC Diagnostic Services will continue to provide essential animal health support."
Holland College will remain closed until Monday, Oct. 3, with a further announcement on Thursday by 5 p.m. AT.
Government
All Service Canada offices were closed on Monday. There is no word yet of their status on Tuesday.
Canada Post suspended delivery on P.E.I. Monday, but are planning to resume service on Wednesday, though delivery of items will depend on whether carriers can do that safety in individual circumstances.
All public libraries on the Island were staying closed on Tuesday.
Most Supreme Court and Court of Appeal matters and appearances are adjourned for this week. Only urgent and emergency hearings and document filings will take place. Some provincial court matters will proceed on Wednesday and Thursday.
