Rideau Canal Waterway - Ice Storm 1998


		Ice Storm '98

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ICE STORM '98

Ice laden trees around my house

It was the evening of January 7, 1998 in the southern Rideau region when the power went out. That night the forest started to come down. For the next two days the forest took on a surreal crystal appearance with branches covered by up to 2 inches (50 mm) of ice. Every 20 seconds or so a crash would resound as another branch, too heavily laden with ice, cracked and fell to the ground, ice shards scattering on impact.

The ice storm, the worst this century, plunged several million people into the dark in an area ranging from the Rideau region in the west, to the Maritimes in the east. The hardest hit area was from the Rideau through to the south shore of Montreal. The area south of Montreal, now known as the "dark triangle", is still without power (January 20), as is much of the rural Rideau region.

The problem was a result of a trough of cold air sitting in the St. Lawrence lowlands. As moist, warm air from the south swept over the top of this cold air mass, rain fell, turning to freezing rain as it neared the ground, coating trees, power lines, and anything else it hit with ice. Normally, we would get one such storm and it would pass within a few hours. In this case, a series of ice storms swept the region, each adding a new layer of ice to already overloaded trees and power lines.

Local access road covered with branches

The real problem was the massive failure of the power grids, partly due to the storm, partly due to the state of the grid itself. In Ontario, specifications for large hydro towers were upgraded after a bad ice storm in 1961. During this storm, most pre-1961 towers fell to the ground, taking out large parts of the feeder grids. In the Rideau region, another example is a section that was slated for power pole replacement 15 years ago. Presumably to save costs, Ontario Hydro did not replace these poles. Most of these snapped in this storm.

All regions declared a state of emergency. In some areas such as Kingston, a partial state of emergency will remain in effect until summer. Much of the power grid has to be replaced. The current patchwork repair could go in the next storm (which the Farmer's almanac predicts will happen in February).

The people most affected by the storm were those in urban areas who lost power for up to 8 days. These homes depend on electricity for heat, and by the second day, it was rather frosty to be indoors. Communities were quick to set up shelters which many people used to get warm, and have a hot meal. The other group that was severely impacted was the dairy farmers. Cows have to be milked each day. No power meant no milking machines, no milk pumps and no water pumps. Most of the milk processing plants were down, so thousands of gallons of milk had to be dumped.

There were some fatalities during the storm, a few from hypothermia and a few from carbon monoxide poisoning. The carbon monoxide deaths were often a result of running a generator in a garage attached to the house or operating appliances, such as kerosene heaters, indoors without opening a window for ventilation.

For the most part the storm brought out the best in people. Hundreds of volunteers helped out at local shelters, and emergency supplies, including candles, batteries, generators, kerosene heaters, blankets, and the like have been flowing into eastern Ontario and western Québec. It also brought out the worst in some people. Dozens of generators have been stolen from people's backyards, many running at the time of the theft. It is very hard to understand the twisted mentality of people who would take advantage of others in a crisis situation. But, all in all, there were a lot more good people than bad.

Communities were also very quick to respond with emergency actions. Our local municipal officials are to be commended for the great efforts they made in responding to this emergency. Even the Federal and Provincial governments have responded with uncharacteristic speed. Some might say it is politically motivated (they don't want to tick off the large percentage of the Canadian voting public who were affected by the power outage), but at least they took quick action. The armed forces also sprung into action, helping to bring in supplies and helping to check on rural residents. As one member of the armed forces put it, "it's just like Bosnia -- without the bullets"

The neighbours and I clearing our access road

For a rural resident such as myself, the outage has been simply an inconvenience. Since we live "in the woods" we have always been well prepared with candles, batteries, kerosene, gasoline, a small generator, and a well stocked larder. The worst part was the feeling of being trapped the first two and a half days until we cut and removed all the branches lying on our access road. We have a cell phone and hence had contact with the outside world (at $1/minute .. ouch).

I also suffered a severe case of Internet withdrawal for almost 2 weeks. I don't think the telephone repairman understood why I was doing somersaults of joy today (Jan. 20) when he knocked at my door to tell me my phone line was back up. Now that I have Internet access (the computer is powered by the generator), all is right again with the world.

Our routine starts when we get up. We get the woodstove fired up to put some heat into the house. After breakfast we take the dog for a walk and then haul up a couple of buckets of water from the lake (to flush the toilet), replenish a few containers with ice (to keep the fridge cool), and bring in a couple of loads of firewood. We go to the freezer (coolers in our garage with the former contents of our now defrosted freezer) and pick out something for dinner. I check my books of BBQ recipes to see what tasty way I can cook it. As night falls, we light a coleman lantern and a few oil lamps and settle in for the evening.

This is not to say I don't want power back. Taking a shower using 2 quarts of water is a skill I honed during my 10 years of exploration geology (remote field camps .. no running water) - but it would be nice to take a real shower with lots of hot water. My laser printer will almost grind our generator to a halt, so I've stolen my wife's ink jet printer for the duration of the power outage. Since our TV antenna is broken, we only get 2 channels, but I haven't watched any TV since the power went out (I lie .. we splurged one night and watched a video). Still, it would be nice to have power back in time for the winter Olympics.

Oak tree snapped in half

The long term effects of this storm are unknown. There is worry about its impact on the maple syrup industry in our region. Hardwood trees such as maple got hit especially hard. The full effect will not be known until next spring when the leaves start to come out. Some people have put estimates of trees that will die due to the stress from this storm (i.e. missing branches) as high as 35%.

For those concerned about the forest itself, be assured that there will be no long term impact, since more light will penetrate the canopy and new trees will grow to replace the old. It is unlikely that the local wildlife will be much affected, in fact fallen trees and standing deadfall will provide new habitat for many local creatures.

Visitors to the Rideau this summer will not notice much difference from previous years. The conifers (pine, spruce) were not severely impacted. Even a 15 - 35% tree kill in deciduous forests will be hard to notice amongst the greenery of the leaves.

Local cottage owners will have a lot of cleanup to do. Many may be initially without power since it is the homeowner's responsibility to have any power line damage on their property repaired. If you are a Rideau cottage owner, make sure you have a working chainsaw and/or a good swede saw and be prepared to hire an electrician to reconnect your cottage to the power grid.

By mid-summer, when I am out paddling in our canoe, the Great Ice Storm of '98 will only be a passing memory. If you are a visitor to the Rideau this summer, you will likely hear about it from every Lockmaster you talk to as you make your way up the still scenic Rideau.

- Ken Watson
January 20, 1998

Epilogue
January 22 - Had a contractor in to replace a power pole on our property that had been knocked out of kilter by the storm. After 5 hours of work we have a new pole and are ready to accept power. The Hydro crews are working down the road, power should be here soon.

January 23 - At 6 PM, after 16 days without power, the lights came on in our bathroom (the only circuit still left on). Flicked the switch on the water pump, checked it, the water flows (i.e. the line didn't freeze). Turned on the rest of the circuits to the house. Everything works (TV reception is a bit pitiful with the bent antenna).

There will still be a lot of cleanup when the snow melts this spring, revealing a sea of small branches. We might lose a couple of trees due to the stress of lost branches. And, I'm going to get someone in to cut down a big overhanging oak branch that remarkably didn't come down (onto our roof) during the storm. All throughout the storm I kept anticipating the crash of this branch plunging through our roof. It was a smaller branch from this tree that took out part of our TV antenna.

Planning to use a Chainsaw?

Many people, faced with a large cleanup, will be using a chainsaw to help with the work. A chainsaw is an extremely dangerous device and must be used with care. Be sure to read the Chain Saw Safety Page before you start. Even those experienced with chainsaws can make mistakes (read Dave Brown's story below)

A Rideau Tale of Harrowing Ice Storm Adventure

Check out Dave Brown's diary of his trials and tribulations during the Ice Storm of '98 at Chaffeys Locks. Just pop over to the Dave Brown's Storm Diary Page.

Ice Storm Diet

Lorie Truemner's menu plan for those sitting without power (for days and days) after a major ice storm (guess which one). Have a look at Lorie Truemner's Ice Storm Diet.

Rideau Resident's Section