Residents in the greater Kawarthas woke up to the sound of generators and chainsaws on Monday (March 31), as the region deals with the aftermath of a major ice storm over the weekend that left hundreds of thousands without power as transformers exploded and tree limbs broke under the weight of heavy ice and took out hydro lines.
Environment and Climate Change Canada says the areas hardest hit by the ice storm were in central and eastern Ontario: Barrie, Orillia, the City of Kawartha Lakes, Peterborough, and Kingston. Lindsay saw 25 millimetres of ice accumulation, with 20 millimetres in the Peterborough area.
“I don’t remember seeing this amount of ice accretion ever in my lifetime,” a Peterborough resident told kawarthaNOW on Sunday, as he and his family were walking through Rogers Cove in East City to survey the damage to trees.
Across the Kawarthas region, residents flooded social media with videos, photos, and comments about the ice storm — in particular about the sound of tree limbs breaking, especially overnight on Saturday. Several people noted that the constant loud and sharp cracks sounded “like a war zone.”
While Hydro One crews have restored power to more than 460,000 customers since the beginning of the storm, many thousands of people remain without power, including around 40,000 in Peterborough.
Most of the power outages were caused by falling tree branches that snapped hydro lines during the two wave of the ice storms on Saturday and Sunday, with high winds on Sunday night creating additional damage. Along with the outages, Hydro One crews have been unable to access some areas with fallen trees making roads impassable until they are cleaned up.
Hydro One is now estimating that power may only be restored to many customers by Thursday.
According to its website, the provincial utility “prioritizes restoration in a way that brings power back to the greatest number of customers in the shortest period of time.”
“Crews need to repair and rebuild main lines along with other key pieces of electricity infrastructure before repairs can be made to power lines that serve smaller numbers of customers,” Hydro One states.
Along with Orillia, Muskoka District, and Oro-Medonte Township, the City of Peterborough declared a state of emergency on Sunday. Peterborough County, The City of Kawartha Lakes, and Haliburton Highlands have followed suit, also declaring a state of emergency on Monday.
In Peterborough, many city services and facilities are temporarily closed. At Peterborough city hall, the city clerk’s office customer service desk is open for in-person services on Monday as is Service Peterborough, where social services is offering in-person services including social assistance cheque pickups (the Charlotte Street office is closed). City council’s general committee meeting that was scheduled for Monday evening has been cancelled and rescheduled for the afternoon on Monday, April 7.
The city is continuing to offer warming room and reception centre spaces, where residents can also charge their devices, at the Healthy Planet Arena banquet hall (911 Monaghan Rd.), Miskin Law Community Complex (271 Lansdowne St. W.), and the Peterborough Sport and Wellness Centre (775 Brealey Dr.).
Healthy Planet Arena banquet hall will be open overnight until at least noon on Tuesday, with the other two facilities open from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Showers will be available from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily at all three warming centres when they are open.
With the exception of the warming centres, all other city recreation facilities are closed for regular operations until at least noon on Tuesday, when the city will assess conditions. The same applies to the Peterborough Museum and Archives, the Riverview Park and Zoo, and the Art Gallery of Peterborough. The Peterborough Public Library will be open until 8 p.m. on Monday, as long as power remains available.
Peterborough Transit has suspended service until further notice due to downed power lines and trees on streets. However, transit buses will be stationed as temporary warming spaces in locations where there is an identified need, including at 611 Rogers Street, 486 Donegal Street, 526 McDonnel Street, and in the cul-de-sac at Hedonics Road.
The city is also offering a free shuttle bus for any residents who need to get to any of the three warming centres. The shuttle will run every 30 minutes starting at 2 p.m., with the last trip departing from city hall at 10:50 p.m. The route runs in a loop from Murray and George streets (outside city hall at 500 George St. N.), the Simcoe Street bus terminal (190 Simcoe St.), the Peterborough Sport and Wellness Centre, Healthy Planet Arena, and Miskin Law Community Complex.
All city parks are officially closed due to the risk of falling trees and tree limbs.
Tipping fees at the Bensfort Road landfill will be waived until Monday, April 14 for residents disposing of brush and wood waste (this only applies to residential brush and wood waste only and does not include commercial loads).
Residential yard waste collection is also beginning this week, and garbage/recycling and green bin collection is expected to proceed with the normal collection schedule. Residents that receive organics collection can dispose of spoiled food items in green bins (all packaging must be removed from food waste before placing it in the green bin).
Since the ice storm began late Friday, the city’s public works crews have been assessing the conditions on roads and responding to downed tree limbs and trees on streets and public property. Over 24 hours on the weekend, public works received around 1,100 calls for service and Peterborough Fire Services has received more than 700 calls.
The city is asking residents to reduce their water consumption as pumping stations in the city’s stormwater management infrastructure have been operating on backup power sporadically.
For the most recent updates on city services, visit peterborough.ca/stormupdate.
In the City of Kawartha Lakes, the city’s emergency operations centre met to reassess the situation on Monday morning and the municipality has since declared a state of emergency.
Clean-up efforts are underway and will continue in coordination with Hydro One crews as they work to restore power. Power has been restored to parts of Lindsay and Fenelon Falls, but it may be several days until full power is restored across Kawartha Lakes.
With the exception of Kawartha Lakes City Hall (26 Francis St., Lindsay), all municipal offices are closed, all recreational facilities are closed and programming cancelled, and all library branches are closed.
City hall is open until 4:30 p.m. on Monday, and a warming room is available in the Victoria Room on the second floor, where residents are welcome to charge their devices. Hydration stations and washrooms are also available.
Additional warming rooms are available at Victoria Park Armoury (210 Kent St. W.) from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Fenelon Falls Community Centre (27 Veterans Way) from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and at the following fire stations from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.: Bobcaygeon Fire Station (1 Duke St.), Bethany Fire Station (88 Ski Hill Rd.), Mariposa Fire Station (552 Eldon Rd., Little Britain), and Burnt River Fire Station (186 Burnt River Rd).
Lindsay Transit has resumed service on Monday.
Both the Lindsay and Somerville landfills are open (8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. respectively) for residents to dispose of yard waste and storm debris, with no tipping fees until further notice.
Boil water advisories are in effect for residents within the Sonya Drinking Water System, Pinewood Drinking Water System (Pontypool), Norland Drinking Water System, and the Woodfield Drinking Water System in Bethany. A boil water advisory requires all water to be used for cooking or drinking must be brought to a rolling boil and boiled for at least one minute prior to use. A safe alternative to using boiled water is using bottled water or water from a private well that has been tested. All other drinking water systems remain operational and water is safe to drink.
In both Peterborough and Kawartha Lakes, many traffic lights are not functioning. Drivers should treat all intersections as four-way stops.
In other regional updates, both the Peterborough Victoria Northumberland and Clarington Catholic District School Board (PVNCCDSB) and the Trillium Lakelands District School Board (TLDSB) have closed all schools and facilities on Monday to students and non-essential staff. PVNCCDSB and TLDSB have since announced they will keep all schools schools closed to students and the public on Tuesday.
Trent University cancelled classes at Symons Campus and Traill College in Peterborough on Monday, and is cancelling them again on Tuesday. Faculty and instructors have been asked to be flexible during this time. Students who have assignments, tests, or take-home exams, should access Blackboard and check their e-mail for updates from instructors. If possible, students should contact instructors directly to discuss any concerns.
As power has been restored to Symons Campus, Water Street residences, Traill College, and the Traill Annex, the Peterborough campus will be open Tuesday and several facilities are available to students, staff and faculty, including the Student Centre, Bata Library, and Trent Athletics Centre. Starting Tuesday, food services will be available in Otonabee College, Lady Eaton College, Traill College, and Traill Annex. Students, staff, and faculty without power at home who can safely travel to campus are welcome to use campus spaces.
Fleming College cancelled in-person classes at its Peterborough, Lindsay, and Haliburton campuses on Monday and will do so again on Tuesday, with classes moved online wherever possible.
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) reports that downed power lines and trees continue to cause issues throughout many areas in the Kawarthas. While roadways are clear of ice, there remains significant amounts of debris scattered across many roads, with at least 38 road closures in the region due to surface water, debris, and downed trees and power lines. The OPP is urging resident to stay off the roadways and to avoid unnecessary travel.
In the Municipality of Port Hope, the Ganaraska Forest and all Ganaraska Region Conservation Authority properties are temporarily closed due to hazards from from falling trees and limbs.
Canada Post has also announced there will be no collection or delivery of mail on Monday.
This story has been updated with additional updates from municipalities and organizations.
