Thunderstorm leaves thousands without power in Montreal

A severe thunderstorm in Montreal leftmore than 9,000households and businesses without power at its peak.

Hydro-Qubec had restored power to about half of those clients by early Wednesday evening.

At least one home in the city was set ablaze during the storm, and firefighters said its possible the flames were started by lightning.

The fire started on the roof of a three-story building at 917 Laurier Avenue East and forced about a dozen people from their homes.

The crews hacked throughthe roof to stop the fire from spreading to the other floors.

The storm also brought a small respite from the heat wave. CBC's weather specialist Frank Cavallarosaid the thermometer dropped 10 degrees in less than 45 minutes as the storm rolled in.

The majority of power outages were reported on the West Island, including Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Pierrefonds, le-Bizard, Pointe-Claire and Beaconsfield.