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Hydro-Québec reports nearly 14,100 still without power

Hydro-Québec workers on snowshoes and snowmobiles are still working Monday in an attempt to restore power to some of the nearly 14,100 customers who have been left in the dark since Friday's storm.

Faced with a shortage of snowshoes, workers went to Canadian Tire stores in the Laurentians to purchase more so they could get to downed power lines in the snow-laden region.

Shortly after 6 p.m. ET, Hydro-Québec said 14,100 customers were still without power in areas north and west of Montreal.

Daniel Dumas of Hydro-Québec said it's unlikely all of those customers will have their power restored in time for Christmas.

That reality was "heartbreaking," he said, but employees are working around the clock to fix the problems as fast as possible.

More than 800 workers are on the ground now throughout the province, he said.

Heavy snowfall Friday knocked out power to customers in the Laurentians, Lanaudière and the Outaouais regions.

At its height, the blackout affected more than 110,000 customers in Quebec.