The lengthy ice storm of 1998 caused a massive power failure in Quebec and prompted many people to buy wood-burning appliances to guarantee the ability to heat their homes in future. Their use has contributed to increasing smog alerts in Montreal.

The lengthy ice storm of 1998 caused a massive power failure in Quebec and prompted many people to buy wood-burning appliances to guarantee the ability to heat their homes in future. Their use has contributed to increasing smog alerts in Montreal.
Photo Credit: Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press/file photo

Montreal warns of smog on ice storm anniversary

Officials in the city of Montreal have issued the latest of several smog alerts today and they hope to improve air quality by restricting the use of wood-burning appliances made popular after the devastating ice storm of 1998.

Freezing rain dumped ice over the province of Quebec in 1998 toppling electrical pylons and causing a massive power failure.
Freezing rain dumped ice over the province of Quebec in 1998 toppling electrical pylons and causing a massive power failure. © Robert Galbraith/The Canadian Press/file photo

Central heating is essential in Canada

Because it gets so cold in Canada in winter, most homes have central heating systems powered by oil, natural gas or electricity. Even the systems that use oil or natural gas depend on electricity to work so that the massive power failure twenty years ago left millions of people in the cold and the dark.

The storm affected mostly the province of Quebec, but also parts of neighbouring Ontario and the Maritime provinces. In this area, winter temperatures are usually well below freezing, but they rose in 1998 and between January 5 and 10, there were three successive waves of freezing rain. They piled ice onto trees, electrical wires and poles, and some of the huge electrical transmission pylons collapsed under the weight.

Burning wood for heat became popular

In some areas, power was not restored for weeks. Some people evacuated their homes. Others had fireplaces or wood-burning stoves and were able to keep warm enough to stay. But it was a bitter experience and after it was over, many people bought wood-burning heating systems as a back-up in case of future electrical failures.

Anti-pollution activist Andre Belisle told the Canadian Press that this increased use of wood-burning appliances is partly to blame for the growing number of wintertime smog days in Montreal.

Montrealers are now obliged to declare their fireplaces and are not allowed to use them unless they are certified as meeting pollution standards.
Montrealers are now obliged to declare their fireplaces and are not allowed to use them unless they are certified as meeting pollution standards.

Montreal outlaws wood-burning appliances

The city it tackling the problem by outlawing the use of solid-fuel-burning heating systems unless they are certified as emitting less than 2.5 grams per hour of fine particles into the atmosphere. By October, the rule will apply to wood-burning stoves and fireplaces.

There will be exceptions if there is a power failure lasting longer than three hours and the rule does not apply to appliances used to cook food for commercial purposes. This is a relief to many Montrealers who love their pizzas and bagels cooked in wood-burning ovens.

Bagel-making establishments and other commercial enterprises will still be allowed to burn wood to make specialty foods.
Bagel-making establishments and other commercial enterprises will still be allowed to burn wood to make specialty foods. © Paul Chiasson/The Canadian Press/file
Categories: Environment & Animal Life, Health
Tags: , , ,

Do you want to report an error or a typo? Click here!

For reasons beyond our control, and for an undetermined period of time, our comment section is now closed. However, our social networks remain open to your contributions.