Power outages still plague Ontario, Quebec after storms
It could take a couple of more days before power is fully restored to more than 120,000 customers in southwestern Quebec and southern Ontario after fierce storms tore through the area.
Friday's severe storms brought winds of 100 km/h an hour that caused widespread damage to power poles and some transformers. Both provinces were under tornado warnings and Environment Canada said Saturday it was investigating multiple sightings in Ontario, although none had been confirmed yet.
Late Saturday, the federal agency confirmed that funnel clouds had been spotted in Barrie and Bradford — both about an hour's drive north of Toronto in the Lake Simcoe region.
In Quebec, several people were injured and a 21-year-old woman was killed by a falling tree branch.
Most of the 80,000 thousand homes and businesses in Quebec that remain in the dark are in the area north of Montreal.
Some power crews were called back from their summer vacations to get service restored.
Hydro-Québec released a statement mid-afternoon predicting that 70 per cent of affected customers will have their power back some time on Sunday.
Restoration efforts in certain areas could continue until Monday. Those areas include the eastern part of Montreal and sections of the West Island.
In Ontario, Hydro One says it has restored power to over 138,000 customers, with over 40,000 still waiting.
One of the worst-hit communities appears to be Bancroft, where 9,000 customers have been told it could be Tuesday before power is fully restored.
Toronto Hydro's Twitter page says only about 50 customers remain in the dark as of Sunday afternoon.
Also in Toronto, the storms destroyed a historic landmark, the silver maple tree said to have inspired the 1867 anthem The Maple Leaf Forever.
Other Ontario centres with sizeable power outages include Barrie, Alliston, Orillia, Penetang, Aylmer, Fenlon Falls, and Bowmanville.
