Melting ice is now the big issue hampering Hydro workers hard at work to restore power in a region where many have had no heat or electricity for seven days.
Warm temperatures Saturday made it easier on those seeking heat in the homes of friends and warming centres over the last week but it also created a hazard as sheets of ice fell from trees and rooftops, crashing down to the ground below.
Two people were injured from falling ice. One of the injured was a Toronto Hydro worker according to Toronto Hydro CEO Anthony Haines.
They are both expected to recover from their injuries.
“Ice will be falling from buildings, from vehicles,” Mayor Rob Ford warned residents at a news conference Saturday morning. “Please be careful. The weather is starting to warm up and obviously this will cause ice to fall.”
Police issued a stern warning to pedestrians and drivers to be aware of their surroundings. Drivers in particular were asked to ensure their cars are free of ice. Several motorists had their windshields smashed by torpedoes of ice that had come loose from other vehicles.
No serious injuries were reported as a result.
In downtown Toronto, sections of the downtown core, around Yonge and Gerrard streets were closed because of ice falling from highrise buildings. Police said Yonge Street will remain closed between College and Gerrard streets until at least 4:30 a.m. on Sunday due to the falling ice.
Officials said melting ice blocks could also possibly fall on wires, creating more power outages.
New outages possible as ice melts
As of 6 p.m. Saturday, Toronto Hydro reported they had 16,000 customers who remained without power. They reported that power had been restored to approximately 95 per cent of those affected by the storm.
“We’ve seen some small ones (new outages),” Toronto Hydro spokesperson Tanya Bruckmueller told CP24 Saturday evening. “We’re still monitoring the weather. If the winds do pick up we’re expecting they could still trigger more outages as the trees and the wires are stressed.”
In York Region, PowerStream reported having fewer than 300 customers still without power. Elsewhere in the province, Hydro One said they had 7,000 outages remaining.
“I think we’re back within normal operating range,” Hydro One’s Daffyd Roderick told CP24 in a phone interview Saturday evening.
He acknowledged that the melting ice could result in more outages, but said they were not likely to be anywhere near the same scale as following the ice storm.
“We’ll see outages, but nothing like we saw last week,” he said.
Roderick said Hydro One is now sending spare crews into Toronto to help restore power to customers in the city.
While Toronto Hydro was reluctant to give a firm target date for full power restoration, Mayor Ford said he’s hopeful everyone will have power back within the next three days.
“Hopefully by worst-case scenario maybe Tuesday all the power will be restored,” Ford said.
City issues warning about spoiled food
As the power returns, Toronto Public Health is also warning people not to eat food that may have spoiled.
The city health unit said refrigerators normally stay cold for four to six hours after the power goes out, while freezers can stay cold for up to 24 hours, depending on how frequently the door is opened. Food that has been unrefrigerated for extended periods of time should be thrown out, especially if it smells or tastes funny, Toronto Public Health said.
The city said excess spoiled food can be put out in clear plastic bags beside green bins to be removed on regular collection days.
Premier Kathleen Wynne said Saturday that some sort of compensation will be made available for some people who lost food when the power went out.
Toronto parents who have been struggling to make alternate arrangements for their children also received some good news Saturday.
The Toronto District School Board said Saturday night that nearly all childcare operations run out of its facilities will be open Monday after all locations were shut down earlier this week because of the ice storm. Only three locations -- Broadlands, Fairmount and Hillmount -- will remain closed Monday because of ice storm-related issues.
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