'You gotta see this!': Storm damage in York Region includes Oak Ridges home struck by falling tree

Damage across region also includes 2 Vaughan house fires

Yorkregion.com
Aug. 31, 2021
John Cudmore

During the sudden late-afternoon severe thunderstorm that whipped through York Region Aug. 28, Morris Pasternak heard a loud noise while in the basement of his Oak Ridges home.

Initially, he thought it was possibly the dehumidifier on the fritz. That wasn’t the case.

He checked outside to see if the heavy winds had caused any exterior damage. Nothing seemed out of place.

"We have some jack pines in the backyard and I thought they would come down," Pasternak, a resident of Beaufort Hills Road, said.

Detecting no damage, he returned to the basement. A few minutes later, his wife called out.

"She yelled, 'You gotta see this!'," Pasternak said.

He emerged again from the basement to find a 40-foot tree had toppled on to the upper level of his home.

Pasternak estimated the storm downed the tree between 5:15 and 5:30 p.m. Next door, three jack pines toppled and crashed onto a fence. Two doors down, another tree fell onto a neighbour’s house.

Pasternak said his insurance company had a crew remove the tree on Aug. 29. Luckily, no one was injured, he said.

"It’s not really bothering us at all," he said. "It looks to be more exterior damage, so we’re lucky that way. It could have been so much more serious.

"It took out some of our front garden -- shrubs that had been there for 35 years or so. It could have been much more serious."

Meanwhile, Vaughan Fire and Rescue Service responded to fires at homes on Marc Santi Boulevard and Silverado Trail that were reportedly struck by lightning between 7 and 8 p.m. Aug. 28.

"Full responses were initiated to both locations and the VFRS made offensive fire attack at both addresses," Vaughan Fire Chief Andrew Zvanitajs said. "The fire on Marc Santi was more substantial and necessitated a second alarm, with 24 firefighters responding."

Both fires were under control within an hour of fire crews' arrival, Zvanitajs said.

No injuries were reported.

The initial damage estimates at both properties ranges from $90,000 to $100,000.

Richmond Hill Fire reported only three calls received related to downed power wires and alarms activated due to the storm.

However, cleanup crews have been busy since the storm, head of public works Jeff Stewart said.

Central York Fire Services reported 37 calls during the two-day span, but only two for downed wires due to the storm, Deputy Chief Jeremy Ingles said.

"We didn’t get hit hard like some of the other communities," he said. "Richmond Hill and Vaughan took the lion's share."

In one bizarre scene in Aurora, flood waters accumulated on Wellington and George streets, reaching bumpers on vehicles attempting to navigate the low-lying area.

Nearby, the popular Aurora Ribfest at Machell Park was interrupted by the storm, leaving people scrambling in the downpour.

"When the skies started to darken up, staff evacuated everyone out of the park," Aurora Mayor Tom Mrakas, who had just left the event and to attend another one a few blocks away, said.

"There was damage to tents and things thrown around, but the good news is no one got hurt. Our staff did a tremendous job."

The popular event had fewer attendees than normal due to COVID-19 restrictions, but there were still plenty on hand.

"We still got quite a few people in there," Mrakas said. "We tried to get on to social media channels that we were shutting down, but people started showing up afterward."

The festival reopened for the morning of Aug. 29, although more threatening weather in the early evening forced the event to close around 7 p.m., about an hour earlier than planned.

"We just wanted to make sure the park was empty, given what happened the day before," Mrakas said. "We just looked up and were in shock to see how strong (the winds) were and at that level."

Mrakas praised town staff for their work at Machell Park and around town to deal with issues such as fallen trees on Wellington Street and St. John's Sideroad.

"I had at least 10 residents contact me directly," Mrakas said, noting he was unsure how many calls went to the town's crews. "I know staff did a great job of cleaning up all over town."

Town staff responded to 21 reports to the after-hours number and bylaws department for downed trees in a span of less than six hours from 5:10 p.m. Aug. 28. Two more calls were received Aug. 30 for trees felled by the storm.

"Bylaw officers were out lifting trees off roadways where possible and Central York Fire Services also responded to obstructed roadways," Alex Wray, Aurora's manager of bylaw services, said.