About a third of Quebecers without power following Wednesday's ice storm should have electricity back within 24 hours, officials said Thursday morning.
More than a million households are still in the dark after freezing rain tore through the province, blacking out neighbourhoods and downing trees.
As of 7:30 a.m., just over 1.1 million Hydro-Quebec customers were still without power, nearly half (483,927) of them in Montreal.
- SEE THE MAP: Real-time Hydro-Quebec outages by region
"It's pretty severe for Montreal," Energy Minister Pierre Fitzgibbon told reporters at a Thursday morning press conference.
He said over 1,000 Hydro-Quebec workers are on the ground across the province to make repairs, and New Brunswick and Ontario have offered to provide reinforcements if needed.The outages are concentrated, Fitzgibbon noted, meaning relatively few repairs are needed to bring power back to large groups of customers at a time.
"25 per cent of the outages [...] have 1,000 connections and more. That is very concentrated, so Hydro-Quebec is focused on these areas," he explained.
A snapshot of power outages on the Island of Montreal taken around 6:30 a.m. on April 6, 2023.
DOWNED TREES, POWER LINES
The freezing rain storm started early Wednesday, sweeping across southern Quebec and coating large swaths of the region in slick ice. Tree branches toppled over, crushing cars in some cases and falling on power lines.
Transport Quebec said weather conditions forced it to close the Victoria Bridge on Wednesday, which connects Montreal with its southern suburbs.
In addition, Via Rail issued a travel advisory, saying power outages and track obstructions caused service delays and cancellations in the Montreal-Toronto Corridor.
Montreal Mayor Valerie said in a Thursday tweet that all major roads had been cleared and that the city is now prioritizing residential streets.
"Limit your movements and, if you must go out, remain cautious," she wrote.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also tweeted about the situation on Thursday morning, saying:
"We're thinking of everyone in Quebec and Eastern Ontario affected by yesterday's storm – and we're thanking the crews who are clearing roads and restoring power. Please stay safe and, if you can, check how your neighbours are doing. We stand ready to provide assistance if needed."
A fallen tree branch is shown next to a bus shelter following an ice storm in Montreal, Thursday, April 6, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes
City of Montreal spokesperson Philippe Sabourin told CTV News the city remains focused on removing trees that have fallen on the streets and in parks in the city. He said citizens should avoid parks where crews are working.
"There are a lot of jobs needed to be done in the coming hours, in the coming days I would say," he said.
The city is asking citizens to call 311 only if there is a mobility issue.
"It's important that those residential streets be reopened for traffic. It's important for our emergency teams to be able to navigate in town everywhere."
Residents should call a private contractor to deal with trees that have fallen on their own property.
"If it fell on the city property, then you call 311, but only if that tree or that branch blocked the street or the sidewalk," said Sabourin.
Workers clear a fallen tree from a street following an ice storm in Montreal, Thursday, April 6, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes
Parts of the province are still under a freezing rain warning Thursday. The warning has been lifted in Montreal, where periods of drizzle are forecasted throughout the morning.
Many area schools are closed in light of the bad weather and electricity issues.
- SCHOOL CLOSURES: A list of Montreal-area schools closed due to storm
Hydro-Quebec officials will also hold a news conference on Thursday at 11 a.m. to give an update on repair efforts. It will be streamed on CTVNewsMontreal.ca.
With files from The Canadian Press.
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