Some 175,000 Ontarians without power after weekend ice storm, strong winds
Premier Doug Ford says he plans to visit some of the areas without power
Premier Doug Ford said Thursday that he plans to visit some areas affected by prolonged power outages since a powerful ice storm hit central and northern Ontario over the weekend.
Hydro One said that of the approximately 175,000 customers without power as of late Thursday afternoon, nearly 45,000 lost power in the previous 24 hours as a result of high winds that have affected central and eastern parts of the province.
The weekend ice storm caused severe damage in cities such as Orillia and Peterborough, while another storm system that moved through parts of Ontario Wednesday and overnight caused additional outages and slowed down restoration efforts, the utility said.
"It's heartbreaking," Ford told reporters at Queen's Park on Thursday morning. "We're working full out again, we have the teams out there from emergency management, the Ontario Corps, warming centres, foods brought in."
Ford's office said he would be visiting the storm command centre in Orillia on Friday.
Meanwhile, Hydro One said power has been restored for more than 85 per cent of nearly a million affected customers but there is "still a lot of work ahead" until everyone gets their electricity back. The utility said its crew members have discovered more than 1,800 broken poles so far.
The weekend storm is the most severe weather event the utility said it's faced since the ice storm of 1998.