Weekend ice storm causes wide-spread outages
Local residents woke up to power outages Sunday morning following an ice storm that hit the region. Freezing rain caused substantial damage to trees, power lines, and infrastructure. High winds continued throughout the night into the early morning hours of March 31, exacerbating the damage, followed by more freezing rain on Wednesday.
While the power was restored relatively quickly to some, thousands of residents were still without service as the week went on. Some were left without phones and internet.
The service disruption and unsafe conditions forced the closure of all local schools on Monday. Closures continued Tuesday for some schools, including Clearview Meadows Elementary School and Stayner Collegiate Institute, as Simcoe County District School Board staff assessed damages as more freezing rain was forecasted for Wednesday.
As of Thursday, 190,000 Hydro One customers were still without electricity. “This is the worst storm we’ve experienced since the 1998 ice storm,” Hydro One posted on Facebook. “Our crews, contractors and local utility partners continue to work safely to restore power. Through our mutual aid agreements, we brought in extra support to help us in the hardest hit areas.”
Orillia, Peterborough, Fenlon Falls, and Penetanguishene. Orillia, Peterborough, Muskoka, Oro-Medonte, Kawartha Lakes and the Haliburton Highlands had all declared states of emergency.
Crews were restoring main lines from local stations, prioritizing critical customers.
“As we continue with restoration efforts, we’ll likely uncover more damage and more power outages. For customers in more remote areas, restoration could take longer,” said officials.
OPP has reported at least 38 road closures throughout the region.
“A coordinated multi-agency response is actively working to clean up debris, restore power, and return to normal operations; however, these efforts will take time,” said police.
