Ice Storm Toronto, Maine, Michigan 2013 Update: Half Million Lose Power; Electricity Outage Until Weekend; 14 People Dead Due to Ice Storm
- Michael Oleaga
- Dec 25, 2013 04:28 PM EST
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Christmas has proved to be a cold force this year for several states resulting in nearly a million Americans without electricity.
From Maine to Michigan and even parts of Canada, an ice storm's impact led to one of the worst Christmas storms in history.
As The Associated Press notes, Central Maine Power stated that more than 1,000 workers are attempting to restore power to all customers by Dec. 26. Other utility companies have warned the power outage could last into Dec. 27.
Officials have stated the ice storm led to the deaths of 14 people including 50-year-old Timothy Woods in Maine. Carbon monoxide fumes from a generator reportedly resulted in Woods' death, according to a spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety.
The Press Herald reported more than 55,000 homes remain without electricity on Christmas afternoon, down from nearly 120,000 during Christmas Eve.
"With the addition of the crews who arrived last night, we increased our counts to 455 line crews and 330 tree crews," said Central Maine Power spokesman John Carroll, via Press Herald. "Today, we'll have at least one full restoration team on every circuit serving every community where we have outages."
Maine Governor Paul LePage has urged residents to be safe and check on neighbors who have no electricity.
In Canada, approximately 160,000 customers were with no electricity on Christmas Day. According to Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, electricity may not return for some residents until the weekend. In Toronto, 300,000 customers had their power knocked out but the figure has diminished to 72,000 customers.
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For the latest updates, follow Michael Oleaga on Twitter: @EditorMikeO
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