Ice Storm 2025

All my respect for the the people who could manage this power outage on their own!

I live in Orillia and our power came on at 8.15 145 hours it was out thank god for side burner on bbq i kept us going it was cold now to throw out all the food and go shopping tomorrow

Yes, it's been a life changing week for hundreds of thousands of people. And still 25% of hydro customers with no power yet. Unfortunately not everyone can use a generator because they live in an apartment building etc. Many people rely on home care and their assistance could not get to them. Many seniors even with generators had a incredibly difficult time this week. People with disabilities and emergencies just like any other day were stranded at at the mercy of the storm. Many generators failed, even a new generator can breakdown some places had no fuel to buy, to refill the gas cans. As I have said a few times, if it was not for the brave people working for Ont. Hydro and outside contractors, this would have been much worse. And the thousands of volunteers and thousands more helping their families, friends and neighbours. Good hearted people saved many lives this week. Our family is always prepared for anything. But the weather can beat anyone, even the most prepared person. Ice storm, flooding, crushed cars from trees, trees falling on houses, totally blocked roads. This was a breakdown in Provincial and Federal infrastructure. The armed forces should have been called in. I am glad so many people got through this with just a little stress and a minor inconvenience. I am not worried about those people at all. I am worried about the people that lived through a nightmare, as some still are. I am only worried about, and helping the less fortunate. Some people lost all their food in the fridge and freezer, and that was the only food they had. Many people are experiencing hard times these days, and just getting by before the storm hit. Now they have to deal with this as well. If we are able we must reach out and help someone that is in need of assistance. Thanks again to everyone out there helping others. It's not over yet, thank you for your extended dedication as well.

Back home at Horseshoe Valley at 3PM today. Power went out at 3:30 last Saturday and came back today at 11am.

Countless number of maples on the property lost their top branches and they are down all over the property. 3l arge limbs on the roof and a number of others all over the front of the house and leaning aginst the house. No roof damage (leaks) as best I can tell. Some eavestroph, soffit & facia damage. Lost all the food in kitchen fridge and our 10 cubic ft freezer.
We left the house on Tuesday when it got too cold to live in and we had run out of water we had in 5 gal pails. Stayed in a hotel in Barrie.
Insurance will cover most things, including the hotel, meals repairs, clean up and food spoilage.

Scary part was Saturday night and Sunday morning when you would hear a limb break off and start to fall. You steel yourself, hoping it lands somewhere other than the roof.

I will put up some pictures tomorrow.

We are safe and unhurt which is the main thing. House can be fixed.

SDC

Glad many of the members of this board are fine. Even though Muskoka also declared as state of emerg., where we are, we lucked out with a minor power outage that likely HydroOne shut down to fix something else. The crews did a wonderful job clearing up areas around us. We prepared (as much as reasonable) ourselves for such events and even went to stock during the day before the storm really started at night. We were ready for a much longer power outage but of course (we have enough propane for our generator to last about 3-4days but may consider adding another tank). Most trees are far back from the house...except two tall spruce which we have been deciding if we should take them down (for such events as well as potential wildfire issues as evergreen needles are bad for starting fire to the house - though we have a metal roof, the sidings are vinyl). Lots of work still to do to get the house the way I would like it for flooding, freezing rain/ice, fire, etc. and just grid issues.
Hope people out there are getting through this well...enough....as the crews are getting things back 100%. Strangely, our premier stayed away for too long even though many areas hit hard were conservative-strong holds (politically-speaking) so he didn't seem so caring about his supporters and he also missed an opportunity to show those who didn't vote for his party, that maybe they should in the future...guess this is going to confirm that they voted correctly (i.e., not for this provincial gov't)? Not sure what goes through politicians' minds sometimes. I am surprised that there was not much (any?) reported on crews from our neighbouring provinces (and even the states) came here to help when it seems our crews usually go to help our neighbours....maybe I am wrong and didn't hear (too much work around here to deal with even though we didn't get hit as hard as other places). Take care everyone!

we finally got our hydro Friday about 7pm in the Kawarthas [apsley area] lots of trees of trees down
but lost the fridge do to power surges /but some are not seeing hydro on till maybe tonight
we got through it just a lot of clean up

Well there is still much to do out there. While taking breaks, I have been on the phone and on the computer. Thought this might be interesting to the readers. For almost a year the Canadian Armed Forces have been planning a training exercise, in this month of April 2025. Here is my question. Why were these assets not deployed to assist in ongoing efforts of recovery from the storm? They were all ready to go in a few weeks to practice an emergency situation. Cottage country has an active emergency situation still ongoing. I have talked to so many people having trouble and we have made progress. Don't these government entities talk to each other? Problems are solved through collaboration and communication. 800+ able bodies on the ground would have been an incredible boost to the recovery and assisting efforts after the storm.

Says it right in the purpose. Wellness checks and emergency road work.

The family house has power now, as well as a few friends. Some other neighbours and friends with no power yet, and thousands of people we don't know still without hydro. Still so many without power and all related problems that may arise without hydro. If it was not for Ontario Hydro workers, and the out of town and province hydro workers that came to work round the clock, it would have been so much worse. So many volunteers doing everything and anything they could in the effort to assist the population of cottage country. Thank you all. But you could use more help from decision makers.

Since this is a fishing forum, let's talk about fishing. Many people live in, or visit cottage country to relax and do some fishing. Whether you are a local resident or a visitor on a short or extended vacation, you are welcome here. Many people who fish in cottage country are aware of it's fragile ecosystem and treat it with respect. Giving back to the community they live in, or visit is very important. Supporting the local economies will be vital this year in assisting the towns and villages getting back on their feet. Buying local benefits everyone who lives up here. Giving back to communities makes them stronger. Thank you to all the great people out there with good intentions. If you are coming up to these communities to exploit the fishing resource and leave garbage and not contribute to a better way of life.....Stay home! We did not need you before, and we do not need you now. If you don't have good intentions and your sole purpose is to take away, stay away, stay home. For the most part these communities are getting through this ice storm together, with a lot of help from some amazing workers and volunteers.

I saw some New Brunswick Trucks in our area. Likely not reported.

MC

We're still without power. They've brought the replacement pole, so I guess there's some progress.

If anyone on here has friends or neighbours on Sturgeon lake, there is three hydro trucks on Long Beach Road right now. Hopefully my friends get some power back today. God bless the hydro guys, a very dangerous career. Hopefully they can get some rest when all the work is complete.

I saw some New Brunswick Trucks in our area. Likely not reported.

MC

Glad to hear that. I haven't seen anything other than Hydro One trucks on our general area.

The motel we stayed at in Barrie, on the Friday night the parking lot and on the street had many NB Hydro trucks.