Emergency Declared As Quebec Battered U.S. Crews Cross Border To Help As Millions Still Without Power

Authorities here in the capital declared a state of emergency on Thursday as millions of people in eastern Canada went without lights or heat and at least five people died after ice storms - among the worst this century - downed power lines and coated roads and trees over the last few days.

Nonessential government employees were sent home early, and the area’s main highway was closed ecause of treacherous road conditions. Schools were shut, and Ottawa International Airport was forced to cancel most flights.

In some parts of Quebec, up to 2 inches of ice fell. It was so heavy that metal towers supporting high tension power lines crumpled under the weight. Many streets in Montreal were impassable and cars were crushed by downed trees and branches. Icy conditions stranded thousands of travelers at Dorval International Airport, in Montreal.

Hydro-Quebec, which supplies power in the province of Quebec, reported that nearly 1 million of its customers had lost electricity. That means that 2 to 3 million residents in a belt across the southern tip of the province from Hull to Montreal were without lights and, in many instances, heat.

Thousands of people in Quebec fled the dark and cold by moving into temporary shelters set up in hotels and municipal buildings.

At least three people were killed in traffic accidents, and two men in Quebec died trying to heat their homes when their regular heating systems stopped functioning.

For the first time in more than 30 years, Hydro-Quebec had to ask New England utilities for help because the ice storm had overwhelmed its force of 2,000 repair workers.

Thursday morning about 400 American work crews, a total of about 1,000 employees, crossed the border from Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont to help clear fallen tree limbs and restore snapped power lines.

The eastern part of Ontario, from Kingston to Ottawa, was the hardest hit part of that province. Authorities in the region said 50,000 homes were without power, and more were going dark as conditions deteriorated. In Kingston, upward of 80 percent of residents lost electricity.

Ontario Hydro, which generates all electricity in Ontario and directly services rural customers, said that about 50,000 homes had lost electricity by Thursday. John Earl, a spokesman for the utility, said crews were busy restoring power, but with weather conditions changing rapidly there was no way to say when all customers would again have electricity.

“Sometimes we no sooner get a customer in there when we turn around and have another tree fall and the line goes out again,” he said.