Dave Dora, a lineman from Grand Haven Board of Light and Power, works on connecting fallen wires on Macon Avenue in Lansing, Mich., on Dec. 23, 2013.
Thousands of Americans and Canadians may have to wait until Friday or even Saturday before their power is restored, almost a week after a deadly winter storm swept across the central and northeast United States and parts of Canada.
The holiday season has been more of a headache for residents still in the dark and utilities companies working through freezing temperatures and heavy ice storms to help customers still without electricity. A blast of single-digit temperatures have kept the ice from melting, while broken power lines and downed trees are hampering efforts to get electricity running, the Associated Press reports. As of Thursday, 105,000 people in Michigan, 36,000 residents in Maine and more than 101,000 Canadians were still without power.
The affected areas are anticipating more snow and cold temperatures Thursday, including 2 to 4 inches of snow in Maine. Michigan’s CMS Energy Corp. reported that some of its 90,000 customers still without power may not have electricity until Saturday.
Authorities have linked at least 27 deaths to the week of winter storms, including 17 in the U.S. and 10 in Canada.
[AP]