A man died while cutting tree branches in the aftermath of Wednesday’s ice storm, said Quebec Premier François Legault at a press conference Thursday afternoon.

His message to Quebecers is “be careful, be patient,” he said. People get anxious as the days wear on and want to get out to do things, but workers are out cleaning up branches and other debris. And Hydro Quebec has 1,100 employees working to get the power going again.

Of the 1.1 million who lost their power, about 30 percent should have it back within 24 hours and 70 to 80 percent by Friday at midnight, Legault said. About half of the outages were in Montreal.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was in his Montreal riding of Papineau on Thursday, and he told reporters there, “It’s a very difficult moment for Montrealers, for people across the region who have been hit by this ice storm.”

He continued, “Obviously, the power being down for so many folks, the trees coming down hurting buildings and cars and whatnot is of course an ongoing concern.”

He said the federal government would help if needed.

More to come.