More than 330,000 customers are without power after an ice storm hit parts of Ontario on the weekend, according to the provincial utility Hydro One.
Officials say the outages have been concentrated in central and eastern Ontario.
The number of outages jumped on Sunday because of a problem with Hydro One’s outage map, with outages not previously accounted for now having been added to the total.
Environment Canada says the areas hardest hit by the ice storm include Barrie, Orillia, the Kawartha Lakes, Peterborough and Kingston. Lindsay got 25 millimetres of ice buildup, the Peterborough area got 20 millimetres, Orillia got 19 millimetres and Barrie got 15 millimetres.
Kristina Kretchman, meteorologist for Environment Canada, said the ice storm did damage.
“There have been many reports of trees down, branches down, unfortunately, some of them hitting infrastructure, such as houses or power poles,” she said.
Hydro One, meanwhile, will determine when power will be restored for each outage once damage has been assessed, Kaitlyn Forde, spokesperson for the provincial utility, said on Sunday.
Forde said customers should check Hydro One’s online outage map for updated information. Currently, the outage map says restoration may not be until 11 p.m. on Tuesday.
“We’re experiencing outages primarily for tree limbs and branches being weighed down due to the accumulation of freezing rain. That accumulation impacts a lot of tree branches and limbs and those that come into contact with our power lines are the main cause of the outages,” she said.
Crews are working on restoring power in the hardest hit regions and crews are coming from other areas to help, she said.
Forde said it’s critical for customers to stay clear of fallen trees, branches and damaged power lines, saying Hydro One recommends people stay at least 10 metres away. Fallen power lines should be reported to 911 and Hydro One at 1-800-434-1235.
Due to the amount of rain that has fallen, there’s a risk of flooding, and Forde said if water starts to reach any electrical outlets, baseboard heaters or the furnace, customers should call Hydro One to have power turned off safely.
“Do not enter any flooded areas until power is disconnected,” she said.
Power has been restored for more than 257,000 customers since the storm began, Forde added.
What we know about the ice storm hitting the GTA this weekend
Freezing rain began in parts of southern Ontario early Saturday. The freezing rain warning for Toronto and other areas in the GTA, in place since Saturday afternoon, was lifted by about 9:30 a.m. Sunday as the temperature rose above freezing.
Kretchman said the city got between two to three millimetres of ice buildup. She said there were power outages and some slippery surfaces due to the freezing rain.
Freezing rain warnings are still in effect across a “broad swath” of central and eastern Ontario and the ice storm, which developed from a low pressure system from Texas, is expected to continue in those regions for much of Sunday.
“Take extra care when walking and driving in the affected areas. And also, just be aware of electrical wires or tree branches which could break under the weight of ice,” Kretchman said.
In the freezing rain warning for Barrie, Collingwood and Hillsdale, Environment Canada says: “Surfaces such as highways, roads, walkways and parking lots will become icy, slippery and hazardous. Ice build-up may cause tree branches to break. Consider postponing non-essential travel until conditions improve.”
Ontario Provincial Police, for its part, said in a news release on Sunday that its officers in the pcentral region had a busy night on Saturday with, an increase in the usual number of calls for service as a result of the ice storm.
“Freezing rain continues to affect Central Region today, causing dangerous conditions on roadways and resulting in multiple incidents, including injuries from falling trees,” the OPP said.
“We are urging residents to stay off the roads, as they remain icy, and to avoid unnecessary travel. Several trees have already fallen due to the weight of the ice, injuring individuals and causing widespread damage.”
Injuries have resulted from falling trees, the OPP added.
Hydro One spokesperson Tiziana Baccega Rosa said the utility is seeing more outages occur as ice continues to build up on equipment, and it anticipates more outages will happen as the system moves north.
“This has been a very challenging weather event, with multiple systems in it, which is part of the challenge,” she said Sunday.
Baccega Rosa said it could take several days to get power back for every customer.
Some areas in the province, which are known as water-access only, may be without power for some time, she said. Workers will need to either fly in by helicopter or use boats, which they cannot do until the storm is over, she added.
