Frozen in its tracks, human activity in Eastern Canada, from Ottawa to St. John, has nearly stopped after six days of freezing rain last week.
Fifteen people are reported to have died because of the storm and Canada’s insurance industry estimates as much as $1 billion in damages.
More than 4,000 electrical workers and a large portion of 11,000 Canadian military troops were working to restore power in western Quebec and eastern Ontario.
Rural areas are forced to wait as repair crews focus on cities and more than three million urban residents in an area stretching east from Sherbrooke, Que. to Ottawa.
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Throughout the countryside, 100 giant metal pilons that provided much of the power to the region through 735,000 volt power lines collapsed as ice up to 10 centimetres thick encased the wires. Two hundred smaller towers carrying 315,000 and 120,000 volt lines also dropped to the earth. As well, 14,000 wooden utility poles snapped under the pressure, closing roads and highways, isolating rural residents and leaving most farm residents without power.
“Feed can’t get out to growers … . Animals can’t be shipped to be killed and things aren’t getting better very fast. It could be two more weeks without power for many farmers,” said Gilbert LaVoiŽ, of the Quebec Pork Marketing Board.
Most hog producers keep emergency generators but few are designed to run continuously for several weeks.
“The generators are beginning to reach the point where they will start to fail and we are trying to get replacements from other growers from other regions,” said LaVoiŽ.
Dairy producers too are facing dangerous conditions from the loss of power. Dairy cattle that are used to two milkings a day begin to develop hives and first-calf heifers can die from respiratory failure because of a toxic reaction to their excess milk when milkings are missed.
“I won’t be out there milking 110 cows by hand every morning. Without our generator I don’t know what we’d do. It is enough to keep us milking,” said Chis Judd, a Shawville, Que. dairy farmer.
Judd and his neighbors missed at least one milking late last week as power began to fail Jan. 8. The cattle have had to change feed because the generator doesn’t supply enough power to operate silo feeding equipment. The change in routine and feed cause lower milk yields that could plague producers for months to come.
Many dairy producers in the Vankleek Hill area east of Ottawa and St. Hyacinthe, Que. were forced to shuttle portable generators between farms. Milking and basic heating for farm homes has been maintained by emergency crews of farmers who drag generators from farm to farm in a 24 hour-a-day rotating schedule.
Of the milk produced, as much as half is dumped by farmers as 15 dairies have shut down due to a lack of power and impassable roads. The largest of these, the Farmers’ Dairy Co-op in Grimby, Que., will remain closed for as long as another week, say officials. Milk is being shipped to Toronto and St. John, and exported into the United States, say officials.
“We’re losing $1,500 a day in dumped milk. That is what really is going to hurt from all of this,” said Judd.
Ontario dairy farmers have been told the dairies cannot take any more milk.
In the Ontario-Quebec border region about 2,000 dairy farms that produce 1.8 million litres are dependent on small generators.
Loss of the Quebec milk plants represents 3.6 million litres of milk that is not being processed, said Jean Vigneault, spokesperson for the Federation des Producteurs de Lait du Quebec. Quebec accounts for 36 percent of Canada’s total milk production.
“On Saturday we dumped 2,500 litres and every two days we’ll have to do the same. If this keeps up for more than five days we’ll have to see about collecting on insurance. (Quebec premier Lucien) Bouchard may come up with something in the way of compensation. But I’m not going to hold my breath,” said Diana Frizzle, of Knowalton, Que.
Frizzle’s farm is one of few in the region that has seen only momentary power and telephone loss. She has been phoning across the province in search of generators for neighbors as near as four kilometers away who have not enjoyed the same luck.
Maple sugar business
Maple sugar producers fear the damage to trees, which can take 50 years to become productive, may have caused permanent damage to that industry.
“Maple trees have really taken a beating. Five and six inch branches have snapped off high up in the trees can kill those trees and lots of branches that size have come down,” said Judd.
Christmas tree farms in the path of the ice storm have received a 100 percent loss for the 1998 season, according to growers in the Ottawa-Carlton region. Many seasons’ worth of growth will be damaged as plantings going back 10 years have been toppled by the storm.
Calling on farmers and industry for generators, the Ontario Agriculture department and the Ontario Federation of Agriculture have set up a generator hotline at 1-519-826-3830.
