More than 50,000 N.B. Power customers woke up in the dark on Thursday morning after a rain and wind storm blew through the province.
That number has since dropped to about 35,000.
The outages are widespread, but the majority that remain are in the central and southern parts of the province.
High winds are the primary cause of the outages, Dominique Couture, a spokesperson for N.B. Power, said.
In an email, she said that 550 fields resources were available to respond to the outages, including N.B. Power and contractor power line technicians, vegetation management personnel and support staff. Crews are in every district restoring power where it is safe.
Couture reminded residents to stay 33 feet (15 metres) away, or the length of a bus, from downed power lines, call 911, and report the downed line to N.B. Power.
Winds clocked at over 100 km/h
On Thursday, Environment Canada reported a peak wind speed of 109 km/h at the Fredericton Airport. Close behind, the Saint John Airport clocked a wind speed of 92 km/h.
And along with high winds, the December storm was accompanied by unusually warm weather and heavy rain that obliterated the towering snow banks in some areas.
St. Stephen, Fredericton, Miramichi and Kouchibouguac all recorded temperatures of 15 C or higher on Thursday, according to Environment Canada. Those temperatures have since plummeted but still sit above freezing.
Going into the weekend, Environment Canada forecasts that temperatures will slip back below freezing.
School closures
Some schools stayed closed because of power outages and loose debris on roads.
All Zone 7 schools in Anglophone West are closed, which includes Oromocto, Geary, Burton, Lincoln and Fredericton Junction.
Nashwaaksis Memorial and Middle schools, Central New Brunswick Academy, Gagetown School, Andover Elementary School, Perth-Andover Middle School, Canterbury High School and Southern Victoria High School are also closed.
In Anglophone South, power outages have closed Apohaqui Elementary School, Sussex Elementary School, Westfield Elementary School and Fundy Shores School.
In Anglophone East, Petitcodiac Regional and Riverside Consolidated schools are closed.
In Francophone South, École Clément-Cormier, École Dr-Marguerite-Michaud, École Arc-en-ciel, École Soleil Levant, École Calixte-F.-Savoie and École Mgr-Marcel-François-Richard are all closed.
In Francophone Northwest, École Marie-Gaétane, École Mgr-Martin and Polyvalente A.-J.-Savoie are closed.
In Anglophone North, Bonar Law Memorial School, Eleanor W. Graham Middle School, Harcourt School and Rexton Elementary School will remain closed, after the district originally delayed opening by two hours.
Sussex Christian School is also closed.
