They had been without power for 21 days and the propane that powered their generators was running low.
They still weren’t sure who should clear the 70 trees that made their one-kilometer lane impassable.
So on Friday night, 10 residents of Oyster Bed Park Drive in Wheatley River – some of the last people in PEI without power from post-tropical storm Fiona – took matters into their own hands.
They took chainsaws, clippers and whatever else they could find and, using the lights of the vehicles, spent about four hours clearing the debris from the lane.
“We know the judges were out there doing a great job clearing the lines, but we didn’t see any,” said Anthony Saez, one of the lane residents.
The problem, he said, was a failure in communication.
A Maritime Electric visited the site on Saturday to assess the situation. (Tony Davis/CBC)
When residents first reported the power outage the day after the storm, they were under the impression that Maritime Electric would get the job done.
After waiting a few weeks, they called again. They said the company told them it was only responsible for trees touching the wires, and that they would have to get a professional tree trimmer to remove the rest because it would require heavy equipment.
“It seems funny how the message was that it was a great job, we need to get special teams, so we’re going to leave it for next week,” said Michelle Holmes, another resident of the lane.
“And we were able to enter – there was a retired person, a nurse, a lawyer and you know, three chainsaws – and we did it on foot”.
Kate Saez, left, and Michelle Holmes were among the residents working in the dark Friday night to clear the lane. (Tony Davis/CBC)
Saez and Holmes wanted to make it clear that they have no problem with Maritime Electric. Residents were without power for seven days after Post-Tropical Storm Dorian in 2019, and were prepared to go at least that long after Fiona.
“We know it was a difficult challenge for them and we appreciate it,” Sáez said.
The problem, they said, was the confusion surrounding tree clearing. They had been in and out of the area cutting through a farmer’s field, with his permission, until the lane was unblocked.
We didn’t know if we should do something or not do something and wait.— Anthony Saez
“We didn’t know whether or not we should do something and wait,” Sáez said.
“If we had known at the beginning that we had to clear the road ourselves, we would have done it in a few days and probably would have had power at least two weeks ago.”
A crew from Maritime Electric visited the area on Saturday to assess the situation. Saez said they were told it would likely be Monday when power would be restored; however, at 7pm on Saturday the lights finally came on.
8-year-old Alex Sáez is eager to take back power. (Tony Davis/CBC)
That’s at least a relief for residents, including Saez’s eight-year-old son, Alex, who said he had to cut back on his time playing video games when the generator was running.
“I was really surprised at how many trees came down because I thought it was just going to be a small hurricane,” he said.
As of 5 p.m. Saturday, the marine power outage map showed 20 people without power. A spokesman for Maritime Electric said anyone still without power or in need of assistance should call 1-800-670-1012.