I was in Ottawa during the ice storm in '98. Two things I remember about those nights: the horrible CRACK followed by a groaning, tearing noise as the trees broke and collapsed under the weight of the ice. And the flickering blue-green glow as transformers in the neighborhood shorted out from the surges on the lines. I still have pictures of the main distribution lines where the towers all got pulled down by the weight on the cables.

My power was only out for a day. With electric heat, it got pretty cold. My parents in Kingston had to wait for two weeks. The little fireplace in their house wasn't a whole lot of help.

I hope you come out of this OK. Drain your water pipes so they won't freeze up and burst. Move into the basement, if you have one. The walls below ground will actually lose less heat than the rest of the house. If your phone works, keep in regular contact with someone who can contact help for you if you don't call at the agreed time. Hang in there.