A powerful ice storm swept across parts of Ontario over the weekend, leaving more than 300,000 Canadians without electricity as freezing rain blanketed the region, according to Hydro One.
Environment Canada issued winter storm warnings for several areas, including Ottawa, Quebec, and Ontario, warning of ongoing icy conditions.
Forecasters predicted the wintry mix of snow, ice pellets, and freezing rain would persist in some areas until Monday morning.
Hydro One, the province’s primary electricity provider, attributed the widespread outages to tree limbs and branches collapsing under the weight of accumulated ice.
“Outages are largely being caused by tree limbs and branches being weighed down from the accumulation of freezing rain,” the company stated on its website, adding that central Ontario also faced potential flooding risks.
By Sunday afternoon, more than 350,000 customers had experienced disruptions, with restoration efforts underway and power expected to be fully restored by April 1.
Another utility provider, Alectra, reported that approximately 35,000 of its customers, mainly in Barrie, north of Toronto, were left in the dark. “Progress has been slow due to the ice on the lines, but all available resources have been deployed,” Alectra said in an update on Sunday.
In response to the severe impact, the city of Orillia declared a state of emergency as freezing rain continued to wreak havoc. Officials warned of prolonged outages, treacherous roads, fallen trees and power lines, and damage to both public and private properties.
“This is a very serious situation with hazardous road conditions, downed trees and hydro lines, and damage to public and private infrastructure,” the city stated on its website.
Across Ontario, social media users shared firsthand accounts of road closures caused by fallen trees and the unsettling sound of trees crashing throughout the storm.
