St. John's will remain under a state of emergency on Sunday.
Other metro municpalities remain under a state of emergency until further notice.
City heavy equipment crews are out in full force tackling a major snow clearing operation.
To help with snow clearing efforts, the city received short term permission from the federal government and the port authority to dump snow in St. John's harbour.
Meanwhile, residents living in areas where a state of emergency is declared are asked to stay indoors and off the roads. Businesses are ordered to remain closed.
Currently, St. John’s, Mount Pearl, Paradise, Portugal Cove-St. Philip’s, and Conception Bay South all remain under a state of emergency.
All vehicles except emergency vehicles are prohibited from using roadways. In St. John's, no private snow clearing contractors, taxis or any non-emergency vehicles are allowed on streets.
"During night time, residents are encouraged to go inside and stay away from the roads so they can be safely plowed and used by emergency services. Please do not 'play' in the streets, particularly at night; this includes using recreational vehicles or other outdoor equipment (ie. slides, snowboards, etc.)," reads a portion of a news release sent by the City of St. John's.
The city also asks that residents not call emergency services to report or ask about snow clearing and removal - only call emergency services if there is an emergency. In that case, dial 911.
"If your emergency requires getting to the hospital, call 911 - do not attempt to travel there yourself," reads the news release.
The St. John’s Regional Fire Department urges residents not to use cars to stay warm or to charge phones. With so much snow down, carbon monoxide poisoning is a “real threat,” the fire department says.
The Department of Municipal Affairs and Environment said residents can help first responders by staying home, shoveling walkways, porches and sidewalks, clearing snow from nearby fire hydrants, checking on neighbours, and calling 911 when there’s an emergency.
SJRFD has been busy since the onset of the storm, including several emergency calls throughout the peak of the storm. Even Saturday morning, fire crews remained busy battling a house fire in the east end of St. John’s.
Almost 20,000 homes are without electricity as of Saturday afternoon. Newfoundland Power is working on restoration, but impassable roads are preventing crews from accessing some outage areas.
Friday night, after an avalanche damaged a home in the Battery neighbourhood of St. John’s, SJRFD evacuated any residents in the area whose homes remained at risk of damage from another avalanche.
The Battery is a high-risk area for avalanches. In 1959, an avalanche in The Battery killed five people. There were also serious avalanches in the area in the 1920s.
In the mid-1990s, the city brought in experts and had fences installed above the Outer Battery in order to stabilize snow in the area where an avalanche might start.
There was also an avalanche at a home in Sunnyside that is located near a hill. There were no injuries, but the homeowner's garage and shed were both destroyed. The Telegram spoke with the homeowner and will have a further update on that situation.
