Hydro One crews head south to help states battered by deadly storm

Hydro One says 200 of its workers will be helping to restore power after the deadly storm that swept across parts of the eastern United States over the weekend.

The Ontario crews left Monday morning and will be helping local utilities in the Baltimore, Virginia and Washington areas after a brutal wind storm on Friday killed at least 18 people and cut power to approximately two million customers between North Carolina and New Jersey. States farther west, including Illinois, are also affected.

The storm came amid a record-breaking heat wave and it could be days before power is fully restored. Most of the storm-related deaths were due to falling trees.

The last time Hydro One sent workers south of the border was in February 2010 following a storm in Vermont.

“There is a reciprocal agreement in place with North American utilities to help in emergency situations,” Hydro One spokeswoman Tiziana Baccega Rosa told CityNews.

It’s not yet known how long the Ontario crews will be in the U.S.

More than 1,900 temperature records were tied or broken across the U.S., making the power outage even more uncomfortable following the storm. Authorities are urging residents to check in on elderly relatives and friends and to visit cooling centres.

Several governors have declared states of emergency and several states — at least 18 — remain under heat alerts.

Officials in Baltimore and Washington have given many state workers the option of staying home on Monday, in an effort to alleviate traffic congestion.

With files from The Associated Press

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