ICE STORM OF SPRING 2023
(With the hopes that there won’t be another for a while…)
Welcome back!
Well, that was interesting and by ‘interesting,’ I mean absolutely wild.
A huge swath of Ontario and Quebec were hit by an ice storm beginning in the early hours of April 5 and it went on for close to 24 hours.
We woke to a veritable winter wonderland of nature’s beauty with ice covered branches glistening in the morning light. While beautiful, it tested the limits of many trees, some of which could not manage the weight of the ice. As a result, many branches and in some cases, entire trees collapsed.
Roads were blocked. Houses, cars, and fences were damaged or destroyed. (No houses were destroyed, but there was significant damage in some cases.)
Power was lost because either branches fell and downed the wires, or relay stations shorted out from the accumulation of ice, and some transformers exploded.
The blackouts were widespread.
The freezing rain turned to straight rain and that, my friends, is when all hell broke loose.
The blackouts, combined with the heavy rains, were a recipe for disaster.
Creeks overflowed their banks and damaged roads.
My driveway, which crosses a creek, had almost 30 cm (1 foot) of water running over it. I didn’t dare take my car out for fear that it would stall out in the water, or worse, be swept off the driveway. Truth be told, there were very few places to go anyway.
As this was once an off-grid building, I had an 8 kW propane generator. I tested it the day before to make sure everything worked as expected, so when my power went out, all I needed to do was fire it up. The generator supplied everything I needed except water. As it turns out, the electricians who brought power to the building had not connected all the circuits, one of which was the well pump. (This will be fixed as soon as another electrician is available.)
This meant no showers and the toilets had to be flushed with buckets of water, of which there was an abundance.
My stove runs on propane, so that was not an issue. My fridge and freezers have run as normal, so I lost nothing. My pellet stove flawlessly supplied heat. So even though I have been without power for approximately 30 hours now, things are relatively normal.
When I woke this morning, the floods waters had receded, and the driveway was once again passable. The trees and grass were still covered in ice, which made for a beautiful sight.
I have willows lining my driveway and they, true to the legend, bent but did not break, even with a 2-3 mm (1/8th of an inch) of ice.
I realize how fortunate this makes me and I thank the ancestors for protecting the homestead. Not a single tree was damaged or lost.
Before I forget, I want to give a HUGE shout-out to the Hydro crews working their tails off to restore power. I really appreciate all your efforts. According to the website, I should have my power back sometime before morning (April 7), fingers crossed.
If you want to get a glimpse of the homestead after the storm passed, I shot a short video that features still pictures that show a mix of beauty and sheer force of nature. You can see the video here: https://youtu.be/ZHVXuU7YNto
I will have to do is a complete maintenance of the generator once things return to normal. This means new oil, filter, and spark plug. I estimate 1 ½ hours of work, but given the help it’s been, that is a very small investment of time and money.
That’s it for now; more than enough excitement for a while…
If you were impacted by the storm and would like to share your photos, please put them in the comments or email them to me.
Stay safe everyone. Remember not to overexert and if you are able, help your neighbours.
Until next time, keep your shovel in the ground, the sun at your back, and a smile on your face.
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I’ve launched a YouTube channel for the homestead that you can find at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYhZ1s_14TaPZvGkd6qiauA
If you could, please stop in, view the videos, select ‘Like,’ subscribe, and share the link. These things will really help the channel get off the ground.
Please visit my farm’s Facebook page for more: https://www.facebook.com/BlueGypsyHomestead