Yesterday’s freezing rain and power outages bring back bitter memories for those who were at the heart of the ice storm that shut down part of Quebec 25 years ago.
• Also read: 25 years ago the ice storm
• Also read: Power outages: more than 26,500 customers without power in Montérégie
• Also read: Bas-Saint-Laurent: 13 days without electricity
“It was like having a lump in my throat. I said to myself: Let’s see, I didn’t think that I would be marked so much. There are broken branches. It’s not as bad as it was 25 years ago, but I found it ironic,” recalls Linda St-Jean, 53, of the house she inherited from her father in Saint-Alexandre, near Saint-Jean-sur -Richelieu.
Archive photo
One of Hydro-Québec’s many high-voltage power lines that collapsed under the weight of ice in the region 25 years ago.
On January 5, 1998, freezing rain began to fall in Montreal and Montérégie, heralding the beginning of a 35-day crisis that left 3.5 million Quebecers without power, some for more than a month.
Yesterday, more than 26,000 Hydro-Québec customers lost power due to the ice storm, this time causing more fear than damage.
Center for Disaster Victims
Mrs St-Jean and her father’s house was at one end of the black triangle, framed by Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, but also by Granby and Saint-Hyacinthe.
Nicole Pothier, she was at heart, at Mont-Saint-Hilaire.
“What we see today has nothing to do with that. There was 100 millimeters on the branches, I saw them break from my window with the blue lights from the transformers exploding,” she compares.
The then 39-year-old was carried with her six-year-old son from a family member’s apartment to a hotel and a dormitory.
“The difficult thing in the centers was that we had no information about what was going on. There were no cell phones before. It was intense with a child,” she says.
An affected farm
In Ormstown, near Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Serge Beaulieu and Danielle Métras went out of power from Wednesday evening until noon yesterday.
Nothing like what they experienced 25 years ago when their dairy farm was without electricity for 29 days and ran on generators.
“It was three times the size [qu’hier], the branches began to break. When the ice finally stopped, we wondered if we were still producing,” Serge Beaulieu recalls.
The fact remains that yesterday the generators had to be pulled out while waiting for the Hydro Quebec teams to arrive.
“It’s not that dramatic, but the network is no more reliable than it was 25 years ago,” concludes Danielle Métras.
Marked for life
“I get goosebumps talking about it. I had to zigzag the car through the fallen power poles,” he said yesterday Linda St-Jean53 after seeing ice on tree branches.
The resident of Saint-Alexandre, Montérégie, was reassured that, after being without electricity for 31 days in 1998, she was fitted with a generator set (photo) in the house she had since inherited from her father.
“If that happens, we’re ready! assured the person who filled the canister with petrol first yesterday.
– Jonathan Tremblay
Nothing to see
Serge Beaulieu and his wife lost power from Wednesday evening until noon yesterday when a succession of ice froze the pipes at his maple grove (photo).
25 years ago the syrup harvest almost failed. Most of the maple trees had lost branches due to the thick layer of ice that had accumulated with the sleet.
“We were able to harvest, but it took a year and a half for the trees to recover,” Serge Beaulieu recalls.
– Anouk Lebel
Prepare for the worst
Marie-Pier Malouin was only 8 years old when the ice storm hit Granby in Estrie.
“I remember coming home and seeing our aquarium in ruins. We lost all of our animals. The pipes were broken, there was water everywhere. It was excruciating,” she says.
The mother of two braced herself for the worst this week.
“I have a small propane stove to heat food. I also keep blankets, candles and cane in reserve. That’s how we can survive for a while,” she enumerates.
– Audrey Robaille
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