Large chunks of ice falling from the CN Tower have closed the surrounding grounds for the second day in a row.
The falling ice, which began on Monday morning, is a result of rising temperatures after an unusual storm that brought winter-like conditions to the city this past weekend.
On Monday, the CN Tower said the ice chunks were falling from the “upper pod and antenna mast at the very top of the tower.” The area was expected to reopen Tuesday morning but police told CP24 at around 3 p.m. that closures are still in place.
“From this morning there was some ice falling from the CN tower – large pieces – we’ve deemed that it is very dangerous at this time so we’ve had to close the area,” Sgt. Chris McCann told CP24 at the scene.
Bremner Boulevard is closed between Lower Simcoe and Rees streets.
The CN Tower and Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada are also closed. The Rec Room is closed to the general public for the day but said private functions and pre-booked reservations will be honoured.
The Toronto Blue Jays are scheduled to play a doubleheader against the Kansas City Royals at the Rogers Centre with the first game beginning at 3:07 p.m. and the second game beginning at 7:07 p.m. Gates one through six are currently closed at the stadium.
Toronto police said despite the closure the doubleheader is scheduled to go ahead as planned.
“Anyone attending the Rogers Centre will have to enter and exit from the west and south sides of the building,” officers said.
The doubleheader comes after Monday night’s game was cancelled due to falling ice from the CN Tower causing damage to the Rogers Centre’s roof. The falling ice tore through the roof of the building causing water to leak onto the field.
The Toronto Raptors are scheduled to face off against the Washington Wizard’s at 7 p.m. at the Air Canada Centre. Police said there are no closures related to the arena at this time but are advising anyone travelling in the area to “exercise patience and allow for extra travel time.”
“Obviously this is a very busy area with a number of large venues and pieces of ice have been falling off – some of them floating in the air with substantial weight to them that can cause some damage,” McCann said. “There was a car that was damaged and there is some structural damage to the CN Tower itself so through a collaborative effort between ourselves and our community members we determined shutting it down all together.”
No injuries have been reported.
Police said they will reconvene on Wednesday morning to reassess the situation.
“We will make a determination based on the weather, the CN Tower – if any ice is coming down at the time – and we’ll make a determination then if we need to continue to have it blocked off or open it up at that time,” McCann said.
Officers said they are continuing to monitor the situation and will provide updates as they become available.
