Power outages persist in hard-hit areas after Ontario ice storm

Some Ontario regions hard hit by last weekend's ice storm may not recover power until the end of the week, Hydro One said Tuesday as crews and communities braced for more freezing rain in the coming days.

The utility provider said power has been restored to more than 667,000 homes and businesses since Friday, but more than 252,000 were still in the dark as of Tuesday afternoon, and repairs in areas including Orillia and Peterborough could take until Friday.

"While today's weather brings favourable conditions for cleanup and restoration, we are preparing for additional freezing rain and wind in central and southwest regions," the utility said in a statement.

"Wind speeds may not be considered severe but could cause damaged trees to fall and break which may slow our efforts and cause additional outages."

The storm is the most severe weather event the utility has faced since the ice storm of 1998, Hydro One spokesperson Teiziana Baccega Rosa told CBC News.

"We do anticipate the restoration will go into the later part of this week," she said.

'Like a war zone'

Kawartha Lakes resident Beverly Jeeves said the ice on her property started to build up quickly as the storm rolled in Friday night. 

"Ten trees came down in a span of 40 minutes … you really couldn't even be outside to help your neighbours or to help yourself, at all," she told CBC News. 

"It was like a war zone with the trees coming down, and it became very dangerous to even stand outside here."

Now, Jeeves is imploring elected officials to send cleanup help so that hydro crews can focus on downed wires, and propane can be distributed to those with generators before their sump pumps fail and flooding becomes a widespread issue.

Kawartha Lakes Mayor Doug Elmslie said the city's state of emergency was declared Monday night due to the power outages. 

"Our focus right now is trying to get that power back, also to make sure we get all our roads cleared where we have downed trees," Elmslie told CBC News on Tuesday.

He says the city is also having problems with internet and phone connection, which affects 911 calls. 

"We're using backup systems, but even the backup systems are failing sometimes so it's a serious problem for us," he said.

Several of the most affected communities offered those without power a place to warm up or stay overnight.

Warming centres were up and running Tuesday at community centres in Kawartha Lakes, Orillia and nearby Washago, as well as the Horseshoe Resort in Oro-Medonte.

In Barrie, residents were directed to the Allandale Recreation Centre, where officials said well-behaved pets were also permitted.

Peterborough Transit buses were stationed in four locations to act as temporary warming centres, along with three sports and recreation complexes, one of which was set to remain open overnight.

The storm covered roads and other surfaces with ice, causing hazardous driving conditions and damage to trees. Most city facilities and all parks are closed until further notice due to downed trees and unstable branches.

As it moved east, the storm also caused outages in Quebec, though on a smaller scale with 3,000 customers still in the dark, according to Hydro-Quebec.

Additional freezing rain expected: Environment Canada

Environment Canada issued a special weather statement Tuesday for a stretch of Ontario where freezing rain followed by heavy rain are expected between Wednesday and Thursday morning, but says the impact won't be as significant as last weekend's storm.

Baccega Rosa said that as of right now, not much ice buildup is expected, but winds of about 60 km/h are possible, alongside the chance of freezing rain.

"Given the vast devastation caused by the earlier storm, the risk we really see at this time is that any winds could cause additional trees to come down … so this poses a risk for more outages, in addition to both public and worker safety," she said.

Seeing as Tuesday brought better weather, it's a good chance for people still without power to replenish supplies or head to stay with friends or family until it's restored, Baccega Rosa added.

Parts of the Atlantic provinces and northeastern Quebec are under heavy rainfall or freezing rain warnings.