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Revealed Mar 31, 2025 • 3 minute learn
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A whole bunch of hundreds of individuals throughout Ontario had been nonetheless with out energy Monday after freezing rain coated swaths of the province with thick layers of ice, with outages anticipated to final in some areas as storm cleanup continues.
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An outage map from provincial utility Hydro One confirmed greater than 397,000 properties and companies remained with out energy as of three p.m. on Monday — and a few areas close to Georgian Bay could not have energy restored till Friday.
The map additionally confirmed that crews have been in a position to restore energy to 460,000 prospects because the begin of the storm over the weekend.
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“It’s all fingers on deck as crews proceed to work alongside our contractors to revive energy to prospects,” the utility mentioned. “Whereas we proceed to mobilize crews from different components of the province, we anticipate it would take a number of days to revive all prospects.”
Hydro One mentioned individuals ought to keep no less than 10 metres away from any fallen energy line even when it doesn’t look like dwell as crews proceed their work.
Ontario Provincial Police mentioned warming centres opened in Orillia and Tay Township, that are among the many hardest hit areas of central Ontario.
The freezing rain, together with excessive winds on Monday, have “brought about important harm to bushes and energy strains all through,” they mentioned, noting that there have been no less than 38 highway closures in central Ontario because of the storm.
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The cities of Orillia and Peterborough, in addition to the cottage nation district of Muskoka and the Township of Oro-Medonte, all declared states of emergency.
Police mentioned Monday afternoon that components of Orillia are beginning to have energy restored, however the area stays underneath a state of emergency and residents are urged to remain sheltered in place as a consequence of falling bushes and energy strains.
Orillia fireplace Chief Chris Ferry mentioned residents can count on energy outages for as much as 48 extra hours.
“I’d say we have now hundreds of bushes broken or down within the metropolis, in addition to our complete electrical grid was out,” Ferry mentioned in a telephone interview. “We’re simply asking individuals to keep away from any of the damaging hazards of overhanging limbs and bushes.”
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Ferry added that metropolis crews have pushed particles off the streets and proceed to clear up bushes, as teams of volunteers assist with wellness checks and cleanup. The town has additionally opened a reduction station at a neighborhood recreation centre the place residents can shelter and entry meals, he mentioned.
A number of faculty boards within the impacted space, together with these in Simcoe County and Sudbury, closed their colleges and child-care companies on Monday because of the ice storm.
Many companies had been additionally closed.
Gina Allison runs a home-based salon in Oro-Medonte and has been with out energy since early Saturday morning.
She and her household hunkered down on Sunday as bushes crashed onto their deck and vehicles, which she referred to as “nerve wracking.”
“We had bushes coming down throughout us, which was loopy. I’ve by no means seen something like this,” she mentioned in a telephone interview Monday.
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“This storm is in contrast to something I’ve ever witnessed.”
Allison mentioned each of her household’s vehicles had been broken, with certainly one of them getting severely dented after a tree hit it “like a torpedo.”
She’s needed to shut her salon whereas she assesses the harm and waits for energy to be restored. Shoppers and mates have supplied to supply meals and shelter within the meantime, she mentioned, however her household has determined to attend it out.
“It’s such a great group we dwell in,” she mentioned. “I look simply on this avenue and I’m overwhelmed, there’s no treetops left on this complete neighbourhood … it’s devastating.”
Atmosphere Canada has warned that the storm system is shifting east.
The climate company mentioned components of Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia had been underneath freezing rain and storm warnings Monday.
In Quebec, greater than 24,000 Hydro-Quebec prospects remained at the hours of darkness as of three:30 p.m. Monday, as crews labored to revive energy.
The overwhelming majority of the outages had been within the Laurentians and Lanaudiere areas north of Montreal, the place ice accumulation downed bushes and energy strains.
— With information from Morgan Lowrie in Montreal.
This report by The Canadian Press was first revealed March 31, 2025.
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