Hundreds of thousands remain without power after dedly ice storm in Quebec

MONTREAL – Hydro-Québec says it's restored power to more than half a million customers since Wednesday's ice storm, but more than 600,000 remain in the dark.

Director of Energy System Control Maxime Nadeau says 1,400 crew members are working through the long weekend to restore power, but some outages may continue through to Monday.

Wednesday's freezing rain sent ice-covered tree branches crashing onto power lines, streets and cars across swaths of southern Quebec, especially around Montreal and the Montérégie region to its south.

Energy Minister Pierre Fitzgibbon called the situation a crisis, and provincial police say a man in his 60s died on Thursday morning when he was crushed by a tree branch while attempting to cut down branches on his property in Les Coteaux, southwest of Montreal.

Environment Canada says between 20 mm and 25 mm of ice accumulated on trees and buildings on Wednesday in the Montreal area.

Meanwhile, Hydro One says roughly 65,000 customers in eastern Ontario are still without power, and Hydro Ottawa says another 16,000 customers under its purview are in the dark.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 7, 2023.