Tens of thousands still without power in Ontario after pair of storms

Officials in southern Ontario believe prolonged power outages could last well into next week after a spring storm caused heavy damage.

Provincial utility provider Hydro One says 102,000 customers are still without power as of Saturday morning, with about 4,000 crew members working to get the power back on. Of those outages, nearly 31,000 are secondary properties, such as cottages or trailers, the utility said in an update Saturday morning.

The ice storm caused severe damage last weekend in cities like Orillia, which has turned its recreation centre into a relief station where residents can access essentials and charge their devices.

Another storm system also passed through the province earlier this week and caused more outages, slowing down restoration work. More rain in Saturday’s forecast could slow efforts further, the utility provider said. 

Hydro One says restoration efforts are set to last through the week, though it could take longer in rural areas. In some areas, damage is so severe that crews are rebuilding entire sections of the local distribution grid, the utility says.

Premier Doug Ford says crews from across Canada are in Ontario working with provincial crews to get people’s power restored.