It only took five minutes to wreak havoc on Thursday evening: a day after storms and strong winds hit Montreal’s north shore, crews were busy collecting numerous fallen trees in certain areas.
Posted at 3:21 p.m.
Updated at 5:49 p.m.
In Mirabel, Gada was having a peaceful dinner with her family when the weather turned bad on Thursday evening. In just five minutes, the wind and rain shook the trees in the yard so much that one of them almost fell on their house. She chose not to give her last name, as she holds a responsible position in the public service.
“My little daughter was scared,” Gada said. Even though the storm only lasted “five minutes,” it brought back bad memories for her daughter. “We also survived the Gatineau tornado in 2023. We were right where the tornado hit,” she explains.
During the storm, a Hydro-Québec transmission tower emitted several sparks and made noise, requiring firefighters to intervene and carry out a preventive power outage. “I was afraid it would catch fire,” she says. “I ran to the gas station to get water because we have a makeshift well: if there is no electricity, we have no water,” Mirabelloise said.
In Monte Sainte Marianne, where their home is located, traffic was still completely blocked by trees at midday on Thursday.
PHOTO ROBERT SKINNER, PRESS
Several large trees blocked traffic on Monte Sainte-Marianne in Mirabelle, on the northern outskirts of Montreal.
Gada is the immediate neighbor of the Parc du Domaine Vert, where the situation was much worse. During the passage Pressmaintenance crews were busy sawing and collecting huge branches that had fallen throughout the park. The work will be lengthy, since almost 50 kilometers of roads have to be cleared, emphasizes Sebastien Lalonde, general director of the company.
Trees have damaged much of the adventure trail, which will have to remain closed until it can be analyzed and restored by professionals, Mr. Lalonde said. Due to park conditions and power outages, the local day camp had to close Friday.
“It lasted four to five minutes,” confirms Sebastian Barrett, a volunteer responsible for maintaining the paths in the park. “With the number of trees down, this is one of the worst storms we’ve had,” he thinks. Since seven o’clock in the morning he has been clearing up the mess left by the passage of the assault chamber, which seems to have passed through a thin corridor, says the volunteer.
PHOTO ROBERT SKINNER, PRESS
Maintenance crews at Domaine Vert Park in Mirabell cut into pieces many trees that fell to the ground during Thursday night’s storm.
Still without electricity
In Blainville, the generator was still roaring at Ola Lufti on Rue Paul Albert. The day before, his son Majd played “hero” by making sure cars didn’t stop under a giant tree on their property. The tree threatened to fall onto the street. “Come on in, come on in, come on in!” ” Majd shouted to the drivers in the rain. “The ground at the foot of the tree moved during the thunderstorm,” says his mother Ola.
The family was looking for a specialist who would come and quickly cut down the tree. “We have to organize its reduction at our own expense, because it is dangerous,” she explains. “We can’t find anyone because they’re all occupied right now.” » Fortunately for the family, the electricity came back on during the interview with the journalist. Press.
PHOTO ROBERT SKINNER, PRESS
Majd Alzaran played a hero by preventing drivers from stopping under a threatening tree during a brief storm, his mother Ola Lufti said.
Nearby, on the Boulevard Fontainebleau, the sound of generators also reminds us that there is no electricity since 18:00. the day before.
“The generator is needed for the refrigerators so as not to lose food,” explains Louis-Philippe Gendron, a resident of the street. Like him, many neighbors already had a generator because they were used to power outages “as soon as a little wind blows,” he adds.
Blainville firefighters received 56 calls Thursday night about fallen trees, said Claude Deshuimer, fire department director. Transformers exploded and flames appeared on some branches because they touched medium voltage wires, he said. Most of the outages were caused preemptively to avoid fires.
There were many arborist trucks in the area. “We saw six more businesses walking down the street here this morning because there was a lot of damage in Fontainebleau,” says arborist Alexander Morales.
PHOTO ROBERT SKINNER, PRESS
Sitting in the air, arborist Marine Gervais prepares to remove branches from the roof of a house. A large tree in the backyard almost fell on the house during a hurricane.
At the peak of the outages on Thursday evening, there were 137,000 addresses in the province without power. By evening there were only 11,000 power outages. “Some more complex repairs or repairs in isolated areas may continue until tomorrow morning,” warns Audrey St-Pierre, a spokesperson for Hydro-Québec. “Our teams are working hard on the ground to restore service to everyone as quickly as possible,” she said. Laurentides and Lanaudiere remain the worst-hit regions, with more than 5,200 and 6,100 homes without power respectively.
PHOTO ROBERT SKINNER, PRESS
Broken tree at Les Quatre Domaines golf course
By the end of the day, only 16,000 addresses remained without power. As of this writing, Laurentians and Lanaudiere remain the hardest-hit regions, with more than 5,200 and 6,100 homes without power, respectively. There was no power to about 1,500 addresses in Centre-du-Quebec, where the storms also caused damage. At the time of writing, Hydro-Québec had not responded to questions Press.