A combination of snow, freezing rain and high winds left more than 100,000 people in the Toronto area without power this week.
But thanks in part to efforts from other utilities – including Sudbury Hydro – power was back on Saturday for 60,000 of those customers.
Six workers from Sudbury headed south on Good Friday, including the husband of Lisa Hamill, who sent Northern Life photos of the scene the six encountered.
In a message to Northern Life, Hamill said the local crew found power lines covered in ice one to two inches thick.
“Can (you) please give a big shout out for the six men from Sudbury hydro that left yesterday morning, to leave their families on Easter weekend to help the people in need down in the Toronto?” Hamill wrote.
Sudbury Hydro spokesperson Wendy Watson said Saturday that three crews of two people each took three bucket trucks to the Alliston area, where, as of Saturday afternoon, 11,312 customers were still without power.
They were sent at the request of Hydro One, Watson said, who will pay their salaries, as well as a rental fee for the trucks. They're expected back in Sudbury sometime Monday.
No single utility has enough staff to handle major incidents, so utilities have agreements to help each other, she said.
“We all pitch in and help whenever we can,” Watson said. “And we can spare them.”
In such cases, staff are given the option of whether to go, and Sudbury Hydro was able to quickly find six to volunteer, she added.
As of Saturday afternoon, Hydro One reported it had restored power to more than 61,400 customers following the ice storm, which caused extensive damage to its distribution system across southwestern and central Ontario.
“More than 1,200 Hydro One employees and crews from neighbouring utilities have answered the call and are working through the Easter weekend across southern Ontario to repair widespread damage,” the company said in a news release.
“They continue to repair heavy damage to restore power to the remaining 42,300 customers in the areas that have been hit the hardest.”
"There is still a pile of ice on the hydro lines and the trees are draped all over them," Barry Coyle, distribution superintendent, Orangeville Operations, is quoted as saying in the release. "Once it warms up, we will likely see a spike in outages as the weight comes off the trees and they start to stand up straight again and come into contact with the lines."
Coyle also said the heavy ice brought with it specific safety concerns for both Hydro One crews and the public.
"It's very slippery out there, so we're using a lot of ice cleats on boots so the crews can move around safely," Coyle said. "But the big safety concern today for everyone is that, as the temperature rises there will be a lot of falling ice and branches. Everyone needs to be very aware of what's above them at all times."
In addition to Sudbury Hydro, Hydro One is receiving help from Haldimand Hydro, Festival Hydro, Woodstock Hydro, Erie Thames Hydro, Niagara Peninsula Hydro, Ottawa Hydro, Brampton Hydro One, Peterborough PUC, Midland PUC and Newmarket Hydro.
At present, there are 992 incidents affecting more than 42,300 customers.
Go to www.hydroone.com for updated information.
