Crews respond to downed trees, hydro lines as strong winds sweep southern Ontario

iheartradio.ca
Dec. 13, 2021

Strong winds swept through Toronto and much of southern Ontario Saturday, downing trees and hydro lines and causing power outages.

Environment Canada said a cold front that moved through the region brought wind gusts topping 90 kilometres per hour.

As the wind howled throughout the afternoon and into the evening, emergency and hydro crews were busy responding to numerous weather-related calls.

Toronto Hydro reported no major power outage in the city but there were still some areas where electricity was cut off.

“We have all available resources continuing to respond to safety issues and scattered outages across the city,” the company tweeted Saturday night.

“Crews are dealing with hazardous conditions and significant damage, including downed power lines and trees. Rest assured, crews will continue working until all power is restored.”

Hydro One said its crews continue to respond to outages across the region. At 10 p.m., the company said more than 210,000 customers were still without power.

Alectra also reported outages in Mississauga, Vaughan, Hamilton and St. Catharines, leaving thousands of customers in the dark.

Meanwhile, Toronto police said they received several calls for downed trees, wires and dangling traffic lights. High winds toppled scaffolding at a construction site in the Yonge and Heath area.

In the area of Rouge River Drive and Sheppard Avenue, a traffic light fell on a car. Police said no serious injuries were reported.

The wind blew a construction tent near Finch Avenue West and Tobermory Drive, police said. It reportedly fell on a TTC bus, but no injuries were reported.

UP Express suspended its service Saturday due to “weather related track issues” near Bloor Station.

“Our crew is working hard to resolve this issue and return to regular service,” UP Express tweeted.

Flying debris from buildings in the area of Confederation Parkway and Webb Drive in Mississauga forced Peel police to close the roads.

Meanwhile, Toronto also broke a temperature record Saturday, reaching a high of 17.7 C around 2 p.m.

The previous high temperature recorded for Dec. 11 was 13.2 C, set in 1979.

On Sunday, it will be sunny with a high of 6 C.