Environment Canada warned earlier in the week, following the April 2 weekend, that a possible ice storm would sweep across the region before the coming Easter weekend, with low temperatures and a mix of wet snow and icy rain forecast. The weather turned cold and wet Wednesday with power outages starting in the afternoon all over the region.
Hydro crews began removing trees hung up on power lines and repairing lines that were broken as a result of either trees falling on them or from the weight of the ice. Later during the night crews had to call a temporary stop to their repair work because of unsafe conditions in the darkness due to falling branches and trees and the icy rain and blowing wind. Repair work resumed Thursday morning as soon as it was light enough for crews to see what they were doing.
Hydro One, through media alerts and its own power outage call line, advised residents to stay indoors and promised notices of when repairs would be completed and power restored in all areas affected.
In the Prescott-Russell region, many villages and towns were without power Thursday morning. Some places had partial power in parts of the community.
For homeowners with portable generators to provide them with electricity during the power outage, the focus for them is finding service stations that have working pumps to dispense gasoline for their generators.
Residents whose home heating systems depend on electricity should contact their local municipal office for location information on any designated warming shelters during the current power outage.
