P.E.I. prepares for Hurricane Lee, almost one year after Fiona

The Charlottetown Fire Department is pictured on Kent Street.

It was a beautiful, sunny day in Charlottetown Friday, with many people out enjoying the weather while they still had the chance. Behind the scenes, there was much being done by emergency officials waiting for Hurricane Lee to arrive.

“We’re also prepositioning some equipment, some heavier equipment, to make some room for us if we have to do some emergency responses with trees down, or poles down,” said Charlottetown Fire Chief Tim Mamye. “So we’ll be prepared for that as well.”

The city is also advising homeowners to check sump pumps and keep generators 10 to 20 feet away from any door or window. One person died during post-tropical storm Fiona of injuries believed to be related to a generator.

“Just make sure that’s always being used safely, and no fumes are making their way into the building,” said Mamye.

The province confirmed an industrial generator is on site at the island’s only fuel depot -- a key failure point during Fiona, which led to a temporary fuel shortage, a situation they’re looking to avoid this time.

Parks Canada is warning visitors away from the PEI National Park amid concerns about storm surge. They’ve also removed many of the newly-installed beach access stairs to protect them in case of serious impacts.

Maritime Electric is also on high alert. There are 119 crews currently on the island, up from a regular 25.

"We had hundreds of calls this week from our customers. They're concerned,” said Kim Grffin, Maritime Electric spokesperson. “We have some customers who don't have all their repairs yet complete, even post-Fiona."

However, those crews will be dispatched to harder hit areas, if P.E.I. avoids the worst of the storm, but Griffin said that will only be decided once it's clear the toll the storm takes.

"Trees on our power lines, in these kinds of winds and rains, are one of our biggest concerns," she said.

The province has released a list of 70 comfort centres across the island.

CTVNewsAtlantic.ca will provide coverage and live updates on Hurricane Lee, every hour on the hour, beginning at 8 a.m. Saturday.

For more P.E.I. news visit our dedicated provincial page.