ice storm 2013
Time Line ~ Taken from the Independent Newspaper ~ sunday December 29th
Timeline of the Ice Storm of 2013
On the night of Friday, Dec. 20, freezing rain began to fall on Halton Hills. By the afternoon of Sunday, Dec. 22, devastation has come to town and stayed for week.
More than 30 mm of ice coated trees, lines and buildings with power to 100 per cent of the Halton Hills Hydro’s 23,000 customers was down. Trees, limbs and hydro poles were snapped littering the streets. Some neighbourhoods’ power returned later that day, but in other neighbourhoods, chaos was an unwelcome Christmas visitor.
Over the course of the week, crews have come from as far away as Ottawa and Sarnia swelling Halton Hills Hydro’s complement of 12 linemen to over 100, working 16 hours days. Assisting Halton Hills Hydro are tree contractors: Davey Tree Service, Quality Tree Service (Georgetown), Asplundh Tree Service; utilities: Westario Power (Kincardine, Port Elgin and Hanover), Woodstock Hydro, Welland Hydro, London Hydro, Bluewater Power (Sarnia), Waterloo North Hydro, Oakville Hydro, Brantford Power, Guelph Hydro and Kitchener-Wilmot Hydro and Hydro One and electrical contractors: Westmore Powerlines and Dundas Powerlines.
Town staff provided support throughout, road clearing, tree trimming, going on Community Watch at seniors residences, fighting a house fire, and manning warming evacuation centres.
Halton Police responded to calls, directed traffic and also hosted a warming centre at the Georgetown Station.
Volunteers like Katie Downes and Kathleen Dills and local churches jumped into the fray, organizing volunteer drives for dinners for hydro crews, Christmas meals, going door to door with hot drinks and foods for those without power.
Here is a timeline of events as they unfolded, culled from news reports, Facebook postings and tweets.
Thursday, Dec. 19
* The IFP reports: Environment Canada issues its first Freezing Rain Warning – ice accretion of up to 5 mm can be expected in some places. After a break Saturday, another more potent storm approaches southern Ontario Saturday evening into Sunday. There is a risk that this could be a major ice storm for an appreciable swath of southern Ontario.
Friday, Dec 20
* The IFP reports: Environment Canada issues its second warning. A second and stronger system could bring a major ice storm to the regions late Saturday into Sunday morning.
Saturday, Dec 21
* Power outages were reported by Halton Hills Hydro – North East Rural Glen Williams area, Hornby area and southeast and southwest Georgetown. Power was restored by crews.
* Halton Hills Hydro on Facebook: alerts residents it posts power outage information on its website and Facebook and Twitter. If you do experience an outage that HHH hasn’t reported, please call the office. 519-853-3701 or after hours at 1-855-226-4173. Please keep in mind that during a major outage, the phone system may be overloaded so please be patient.
* 9 p.m. The IFP reports: Halton Hills Hydro crews have been responding all day to ongoing power outages throughout the town. Currently residents in Acton, north-central Georgetown, Glen Williams and the rural area are sitting in the dark.
* The IFP reports: Environment Canada has continued its Freezing Rain Warning forecasting a major ice storm forecast this evening into Sunday morning. Additional freezing rainfall amounts on the order of 20 to 30 mm are possible by Sunday morning. As a result, ice accumulation on trees and power lines could potentially create widespread power outages and downed trees or tree limbs. Driving conditions on untreated roads could become very hazardous.
* The IFP reports: Mayor Rick Bonnette says “I don’t think anybody in Halton Hills slept more than two hours on Saturday night because ‘crack!’ then ‘crack !’ there goes another tree. One street, Jeffery in Acton, was just like a war zone, you couldn’t have negotiated a car through.”
Sunday, Dec 22
* Halton Hills Hydro on Facebook: 30 mm of ice accumulation reported so far in Georgetown per the Weather Network.
* 8 a.m. Halton Hills Hydro tweets: Halton Hills Hydro is currently experiencing a sustained power outage due to the current weather conditions and ice buildup. Branches are breaking off trees above the lines as quickly as they are cleared. We expect this outage to continue for an extended period and appreciate your patience as our crews work around the clock to restore power
* Main feeder lines start going down – creating widespread blackouts throughout the 280 sq. kilometre area. The ice storm has caused major damage. Crews are working around the clock to clear trees off the lines and restore power. Freezing rain is a safety concern for everyone right now. The main focus is restoring power to the main feeders.
* 9 a.m. The IFP reports – The first day of winter today, Sunday, will be a nasty day of ice, wind and cold. Significant ice accumulation on trees and power lines is creating widespread power outages and downed trees or tree limbs.
Since yesterday morning, Halton Hills Hydro crews has been working non-stop to restore power to various sections of the town. No area has been spared … Georgetown, Acton, Limehouse, Ballinafad, Hornby have all been affected by the loss of power at some time in the last 24 hours.
* Halton Hills-Milton detachment of Halton Regional Police tweets: “All our calls right now are for ‘unsafe conditions’
* Halton Hills Hydro tweets: “Crews working to restore, but heavy ice build-up on trees and lines.”
* Mayor Rick Bonnette tweets: “Halton Hills Hydro is doing everything to restore power but the weather is not cooperating. Too many trees are broken.”
* Councillor Jane Fogal tweets: “Power still off and no wonder. Dawn shows devastation of trees. And the eerie sound of huge icy limbs crashing continues every few minutes.”
* Councillor Moya Johnson tweets: “No power and lots of trees/branches down in central Georgetown. Stay home and don’t travel unless you have to.”
* 10 a.m. Environment Canada continues Freezing Rain Warning continuing until at least the afternoon. Additional freezing rainfall amounts in the order of 10 to 15 mm are possible today. Wind increasing this morning will gust 30 to 50 kilometres per hour may also cause damage to structures and trees due to the weight of ice accumulation.
* 11 a.m. Mayor Bonnette tweets: Town of Halton Hills has closed all of its facilities today including arenas and pools.
* 11 a.m. Halton Hills Hydro President and CEO Art Skidmore releases statement: The current ice storm has hit our municipality very significantly. Halton Hills Hydro considers this a Major Emergency as we have sustained outages in many parts of our community. Our crews are working around the clock to clear trees off our lines and restore power.The ice on the branches of trees is causing trees to tear down our distribution lines. Hydro’s phone lines are overloaded with the high volume and it may take a while to get through. The after hours number is 1-855-226-4173 if an outage or downed lines to report.
* 12 p.m. Mayor Bonnette releases message to the media: “I want to assure you that Halton Hills Hydro are doing their best to restore power, the main issue is the falling trees throughout our Town as well as the below zero temperatures
Almost all stores are closed. Town facilities are all closed, traffic lights are out in many locations. I encourage residents to stay home unless it is an absolute emergency. Even walking is a hazard with the tree branches falling.
If your power is out, your neighbour’s are also out. Please check on them if they are a senior or have accessibility issues. In the meantime please be patient, this storm has come as advertised and then some.”
* 1:17 p.m. Freezing Rain Warning for Halton Hills-Milton has ended. However light freezing drizzle continues, ending later this afternoon. Winds are coming from the northeast at 20 km/h, gusting to 40 km/h. Temperatures will drop tonight to -5 C.
* 4 p.m. Halton Hills Hydro announcement: Customers should plan for a lengthy outage. “Our main focus is restoring power to our main electricity feeders, once this has been completed we will start restoration to individual customers,” said Skidmore. “I want to thank all customers for their patience and understanding during these difficult circumstances. Our priority is to return service as quickly as possible, while ensuring the safety of our crews. Thank you for your continued support.”
* Mayor Rick Bonnette tweets: Halton Hills firefighters are working with the Town’s public works employees using chain saws. “Everyone is pulling together as best we can,” the mayor said, adding that it’s very frustating for Halton Hills Hydro crews. “They get one area cleared than another branch or tree crashes down.” … “branches are falling like toothpicks.”
* Sunday afternoon: members of St. Alban’s Church in Acton brought food for the hydro crews and to the various homes without power in the community.
* 5 p.m. Councillor Moya Johnson tweets: her power had been off for more than 12 hours and heated coffee and tea on her barbecue outside. “This tree about to fall on our house. Trees falling every minute. Yikes”
* 5 p.m. the 15F3 main feeder was energized. From King St to Elena Crt and from Rosetta to Guelph. Streets that were not energized are Arletta and Murdoch that had extensive damage. Crew is heading back to work on these streets. (Restoring power to ~580 customers)
* 5 p.m. another main feeder energized. The entire feeder is on with the exception of 1 transformer on the Fifth Line . This covers Fifth line to Sixth Line and 27 Sideroad to 32 Sideroad. (Restoring power to ~400 customers)
* 8 p.m. Town opens two warming centres for residents who are still without power.
The Acton Fire Hall, 21 Churchill Rd, and the Halton Regional Police Services building, 217 Guelph Street in Georgetown, will remain so as long as the need exists.
“The health and safety of our residents is of paramount importance. Anyone who is still without power and therefore has no heat is welcome to go to one of these warming centres,” said Mayor Rick Bonnette.
* Halton Hills Hydro reports that outages will likely persist for an extended period and anyone without power at this moment should not expect hydro to return this evening. Residents should be prepared to make arrangements for outages that could last for days.
* The IFP reports: Mayor Bonnette cautions all residents to stay clear of downed wires and to not walk underneath trees which are still bearing the weight of the ice from the storm. Due to the overwhelming amount of ice and damage, public works crews have not had an opportunity to salt local roads or sidewalks, residents are asked to take extra care in those areas. All Town equipment has been dispatched and crews are being assisted where appropriate by Halton Hills firefighters.
The Town is also working closely with Regional staff to ensure the safety of people living in seniors’ residences and other similar facilities and are relocating people as needed.
“We appreciate the patience everyone has demonstrated during this very stressful time. Town staff is working diligently and we are striving to bring things back to normal as soon as we can,” added Mayor Bonnette.
* 8 p.m. The IFP reports: Thousands of Halton Hills Hydro customers remain without power this evening.“We are continuing to deal with extensive power outages throughout our service territory,” said Skidmore, in a message posted through social media tonight (Sunday). “Our crews are working diligently to clear trees and branches off our lines. However, as the freezing temperatures continue and winds have increased new problems are being reported as more ice covered trees and branches are falling. This is complicating our efforts to restore power.”
If you do not have power now, please prepare for a night without electricity, Skidmore said.
* 9 p.m. Region opens Emergency Operations Centre to provide support to the community.
* Environment Canada releases Special Weather Statement for Halton Hills-Milton.
Freezing drizzle is expected this evening but that will end. The ice storm left anywhere from 10 to 30 millimetres of ice on surfaces and trees. Moderate westerly to northwesterly winds of 20 to 40 kilometres will develop this evening and continue through Monday. There may be continued impacts from the ice storm from these winds due to tree branches falling.
Monday, December 23
* 6 a.m. Halton Hills Hydro on Facebook: Power restored in Main feeder serving Hornby and southeast Georgetown.
* Karen Adcock on Facebook – Power finally back on at 6 a.m. this morning. Don’t know if the store has power. Even the cats found it cold in here last night. Thank God for Tim Hortons.
Josie Lauricella Widdifield: How long was your power out? Ours was about 7 hours–but through the day not night.
Karen Adcock:Ours went out 10:30 p.m. on Saturday
* 6:29 a.m. Halton Hills Hydro on Facebook: Power outages continue to happen Halton Hills Hydro
Rural Ashgrove and Stewarttown area (23F2) has been affected by a power interruption. Crews have been notified and dispatched
North West rural Acton area (5F1) has been affected by a power interruption. Crews have been notified and dispatched.
8 a.m. Halton Police tweets: We only had one 87 year old visitor to the police warming centre. She was well cared for and transported home. Please lend a hand to seniors
Just remember the hydro workers don’t have a secret store of electricity for their own families. They want it back as fast as you do
* 9 a.m. The IFP reports: Thousands of Halton Hills Hydro customers are still without power today, however the utility made moderate progress overnight.
Art Skidmore, President & CEO, Halton Hills Hydro said in a statement on their Facebook page additional resources have been brought in from outside the community to assist with the restoration, notably tree cutting and electrical contractors. This has tripled the complement of crews working on the restoration.
Halton Hills Hydro is also extending the hours of its Customer Care Centre and can be reached at 519-853-3701.
* 10 a.m. Cynthia Gamble tweets: Traffic lights out all along Guelph St. creating major traffic jams. Be patient and treat as four-way stop.
* 10:20 a.m. Cynthia Gamble tweets: Georgetown Market Place is open serving hot coffee and hot foods to lots of cold folks
* 11 a.m. Halton Police tweets: Officers out at traffic duty Mountainview/Guelph lights out and volume of traffic is high Lots of places closed call before leaving home
*2 p.m. Region offers enhanced bulk brush collection after ice storm to assist residents with clean up from this weekend’s ice storm until Jan. 31. For details call 311 or www.halton.ca
* Comment posted on The IFP site: “Is this someone’s idea of a joke? Nothing bigger than 3″ and one bundle limit? I only lost one large tree and this won’t even begin to help me!”
* 2 p.m. Gellert Community Centre now evacuation site for residents without power
Gellert Community Centre is now an evacuation site for area residents who are still without power. The Centre, 10241 Eighth Line, has cots set up, food, showers, etc. and will remain open as long as the need exists. Warming sites remain open and are located at the Acton Fire Hall, 21 Churchill Rd. South, and the Halton Regional Police Services building, 217 Guelph Street in Georgetown.
* Main roads are in good shape, and in additional staff brought in to assist in the clean-up and are making progress with local roads. Icy conditions, downed power lines and tree limbs still pose a risk to safety.
* 11 a.m. The IFP reports: as of Monday morning, 75 per cent of Georgetown customers didn’t have hydro, but the good news was that most of Acton, which hadn’t had power since Saturday night, had been reconnected, except for a couple of small areas.
“Halton Hills got the worst of the storm,” Skidmore said. “We got nailed.”
The ice on the trees snapped branches off all across the town, many of them landing on or pulling down hydro wires as they fell. Skidmore said at least six hydro poles had been broken, but crews hadn’t been able to get to those yet.
“The trees are our culprit,” said Skidmore. “The ice was unbelievable.”
* Hydro crews have been working 16-hour rotating shifts and four private tree contractors have been brought in to help remove downed branches and trees.
HHH sought help from other hydro companies, but no one is available as they’re all out dealing with hydro outages in their own communities.
* Halton Police tweets that over the weekend only one person, an 87-year-old, visited the warming centre at the Georgetown Police Station.
* Michelle Lemme of Colonial Tree Service: The ice storm has meant for “pretty much mayhem. Lemme said the crews had been working with hydro companies to remove branches from lines, and also for individual residents with downed trees.
“We’re trying to deal with prioritized emergencies,” said Lemme.
* 3 p.m. Extreme Cold Alert issued by the Halton Region Health Department starting Tuesday night. This alert is issued when temperatures are expected to fall below -15C (without wind-chill), or when weather conditions are severe enough to warrant alerting the community to the risks involved with prolonged exposure.
* 4:34 p.m. Halton Hills Hydro on Facebook: Crews from Halton Hills Hydro have continued to work on restoring power to Halton Hills. While we have successfully restored several of our substations, a great deal of work remains. Unfortunately, based on our most current assessment of the damage and progress to date, some customers may remain without power for at least another 72 hours. …
* 11:36 p.m. Halton Hills Hydro: Thank you for all the kind words, continued patience and support. We are signing off for the night. Crews are still hard at work throughout the night restoring power.
Christmas Eve, Dec. 24
* 8 a.m. Halton Hills Hydro on Facebook: We understand that many customers want more specific restoration times, unfortunately that information is constantly evolving. Restoration times vary significantly from one area to another depending on the amount of damage. At the present time, we have multiple crews throughout our territory including: Georgetown, Ballinafad, Ashgrove, Silvercreek, and Glen Williams. We would like to thank the additional crews from Davey Tree, Quality Tree, Asplundh, Westario Utilities, and Welland Hydro who have arrived to assist and together with Halton Hills Hydro they will be working through the holidays to restore power. Everyone in Halton Hills Hydro is a priority and our staff will be here to help. Our phone lines will be open on Christmas Day at 8:30 a.m.
8 a.m. Halton Police tweets: Wires down Dayfoot/Mill St G’town. Reroute. Remember assume all wires are live DO NOT GO WITHIN 10 metres
* 10:35 a.m. Halton Hills Hydro on Facebook: Power has been restored to Sinclair Av. from Mountainview Rd. to Guelph St. South of Sinclair Ave., Raylawn Cres. from Duncan Dr. to Langstone Cres., Duncan Dr., Gower Rd., Moultrey Cres., Langstone Cres. Crews continue to work in this area clearing and restoring power although a vehicle accident was just reported that may affect services.
* 12:56 p.m. Halton Hills Hydro tweets: Our crews are working around the clock to restore power. Should you see a crew working in the field, please do not approach them for an update. The crews are unable to provide any information and any time spent speaking to concerned customers is time they are not able to work towards restoring power. Any updates on restorations can be found on our www.haltonhillshydro.com, Facebook and Twitter sites or please call the office.
* The IFP reports: Despite the devastation to their neighbourhood, the Christmas spirit is still alive on Miller Drive in Georgetown. Neighbours and friends helped each other to cut down the remains of their trees, including the boulevard tree in front of 119 Miller Drive. Instead of leaving a “stump” behind, friends Steve, Tim, and Joe, decided to leave a little bit of humor and Christmas cheer for passersby – a tree stump dressed as an unhappy snowman.
* 2 p.m. The IFP reports: 3,500 customers still without power. That’s down from all HHH customers— about 23,000— who were without power at the peak of the ice storm which struck the area this past weekend. Additional crews from Welland and the Kincardine area (Westario Power) are expected to arrive Tuesday afternoon to help.
* Most urban customers are now reconnected, but a significant number of rural customers still don’t have power, said Mayor Rick Bonnette at a press conference Tuesday. The rural residents, and those who live in Georgetown West who are fed by a rural substation, are going to have wait longer to have their power restored. It could still be sometime Thursday before their hydro is back on.
* Skidmore said currently there are 13 tree trimming crews, four line crews and two emergency service crews working 16-hour rotating shifts to restore power.
A rumour that they will be taking time off for Christmas is not true, said Skidmore.
“We have a very committed line staff. I can’t tell you the job that they’re doing.”
* Skidmore said currently there are pockets in Georgetown still without power.
“Street by street is really how we’re going. Every street is different,” said Skidmore.
* “A large number are out because there is damage to their services specific to their house,” said Matthews, Halton Hills Hydro Operations Manager. If one house on a street doesn’t have power, but all the other homes do, that is likely the case and those residents need to contact HHH.
* Mayor Bonnette, in consultation with colleagues, has decided not to declare a state of emergency “since the staff has been able to address most of the community’s needs to this point.
“Our roads are open, the hospital is open and people can get around,” said Bonnette.
But Bonnette said just because a state of emergency wasn’t declared it doesn’t mean the Town can’t get additional funding from the Province if needed.
* Bonnette said Halton Hills Fire Department has responded to approximately 80 calls over the last 72 hours, but there have been no significant emergencies. Public Works staff and firefighters have been going door-to-door to high-risk seniors’ apartments to ensure their safety.
* Shelli Harrison on Facebook – Still no power there. (at parents place in Glen Williams) Christmas Eve celebration is officially at my house. Had to rearrange all my furniture to fit 21 for dinner. Ryan is bringing a generator from St. Thomas since they are sold out everywhere around here. (Parents’ power is restored at 10:30 p.m. Christmas Eve.)
* 8:35 p.m. Stephanie Patterson on Facebook - A LOT of huge bangs happening all over. Last night all of Elora shook with a huge bang and others in Guelph are hearing enormous bangs. So far unexplained. weird
Halton Region Police explanation: Frost quakes, a common occurrence after ice storms.
* 8:43 p.m. Tweeter – IT’S F***ING BEEN 86 F***ING HOURS WITHOUT HYDRO @RickBonnette1 F*** YOU MERRY F***ING CHRISTMAS YOU F***ING D*** HEAD
Mayor Bonnette- Nice language wishes. HHHydro have tried their best.
* 11:01 p.m. Halton Hills Hydro – Thank you to our customers for your continued patience and support. We will continue to have crews working throughout the night restoring power. We are signing off social media for the night but will be back in the morning.
* Sandy Woodworth on Facebook - We came home from a candlelight church service to a lit and warming up house on Wildwood. Thank-you HHH for working so hard to restore as much power as you can. Will crews be out today and any word when people on the Ninth Line north of Preston’s will be restored?
Christmas Day, Dec 25
* 7 a.m. Halton Hills Hydro on Facebook: Halton Hills Hydro crews continue to work on a rotating shift basis and will continue to do so until all customers have power. We are seeing moderate progress with hundreds of additional customers reconnected yesterday. We still have an approximately 2,500 customers without power. In addition, there are many individual outages are due to meter base damage. …
* 7:46 a.m. Duane Coleman on Facebook – Did you forget Limehouse?!
Halton Hills Hydro: There has been extensive damage in that area but we will keep working until ALL are restored.
* 2 p.m. The IFP reports: Ice storm has dealt another blow, with the organizers of Light Up The Hills decided to shut down the annual Christmas light display in Dominion Gardens this year. The display was scheduled to light up the park until Jan. 3
“It is with sadness and disappointment that Light Up The Hills has decided to shut down our ‘Dominion Gardens Display’ for 2013. We are attempting to keep our Tree of Hope lit Christmas Eve and Christmas Day,” said Gerry Kentner, chair of Light Up The Hills “Now this ‘Storm of 2013’ has caused extensive damage to our wiring runs. Trees have fallen and broken extension cords and light strings are broken creating a potential hazard to park users.”
* Halton Hills Hydro CEO Art Skidmore in his daily briefing said, “Halton Hills Hydro crews continue to work on a rotating shift basis and will continue to do so until all customers have power. We are seeing moderate progress with hundreds of additional customers reconnected yesterday – approximately 2,500 customers without power. In addition, there are many individual outages are due to meter base damage. Crews are currently dispatched throughout territory, including Silvercreek, Ashgrove, Balinafad, Norval, Glen Williams, Georgetown and Acton. Unfortunately, the weather not helping as ice is not melting off tree limbs and power lines.
Crews from Westario Power, Welland Hydro, London Hydro and Westmore Poleline and Electric Inc. will be working with Halton Hills until power is restored. The two additional crews from London Hydro arrived on Christmas morning.
* Kelly Martin posts on Facebook: “They (hydro crews) were in Limehouse yesterday. I went for a drive and there were lines down on Sixth Line North of Hwy 7…but not many; unfortunately Sixth line just south of 7 had quite a few lines down and Sixth Line south of 17 sideroad was really bad. I don’t know what Fifth line was like. If it was anywhere close to the damage on Sixth I think it will be a while yet.”
* Steve Turner tweets: “HHHydro thanks for all the hard work, even though we still are with no power. We are at home with our loved ones as the crews are not.”
* Mayor Rick Bonnette tweets: a few people also dropped into the Acton Fire Hall warming centre to enjoy some hot chocolate. For those who are alone or without power there will be a free Christmas turkey lunch at the Acton Town Hall.
* 1:14 p.m. Jenn Budgen on Facebook: Glen Crescent Dr. in Glen Williams. – top half of street has power, but many houses at bottom still do not. Any updates would be appreciated. Also for Tweedle St. please
Halton Hills Hydro We will have a crew in that area tonight once they come off their mandatory 8 hour sleep period.
* 6:30 p.m. Nicole McClelland on Facebook: We live on Eighth line south of 32 Sideroad. Most properties have power back but ours does not. Is this an issue from the power line from the house to the street? If so is this an issue hydro resolves?
Halton Hills Hydro: If there is damage along the line running from your house to the street and/or including the stack and meter base it would be the responsibility of the customer.
* Mary-Ann Roach on Facebook: You guys are amazing! Thanks so much for continuing to work through Christmas day to help others have a Christmas!
* 6:45 p.m. Halton Hills Fire Department was kept busy with two major incidents occurring simultaneously at 6:45 p.m. on Christmas Day. Occupants of a single family home on Church St. West in Acton called 911 after being alerted to a bedroom fire by a smoke alarm. The cause of the fire is related to a candle left in the bedroom with damage to the home and contents estimated at $150,000.
In the second incident, fire crews responded to the Bennett Galleria on Halton Hills Dr. after carbon monoxide (CO)P readings were found higher than acceptable and immediately began ventilation procedures for every floor and every individual apartment. Occupants were gathered in the ground floor common area.
* 7:48 p.m. Kelly Martin on Facebook: Can you please tell me if your crews will be working on the Sixth Line North of Hwy 7 anytime soon? The subdivision south (just less than 1/2 km away) had power two days ago as did our neighbours behind us on 5th Line. We heard today that townline less than 1/2 km north of us was restored today. We feel like you are avoiding us.
Christine Hunt Coleman on Facebook: 6th line?????? Between 20th and 17th side road. Any estimate of time???? 100 hours now without power! I appreciate the hard work and all but it would be nice to hear an estimated time. Maybe a light at the end of this cold, dark tunnel?
Halton Hills Hydro: We are expecting additional crews tomorrow which will help us clear the lines on 6th line.
* 8 p.m. Environment Canada issues a Special Weather Statement for Halton Hills on Christmas Day: “Very cold temperatures moderating but brisk winds later today and Boxing Day could bring down more ice-laden tree branches and power lines.
Temperatures had bottomed out and are on the rebound with skies clouding over and light snow fallingWith moderating temperatures, light winds this morning will increase to southeast 20 km/h this afternoon. On Boxing Day winds of 20 to 25 km/h from southwest are forecast. This could result in more ice laden tree branches and power lines to break.”
* Halton Hills Hydro tweets: Thank you to our customers for your positive comments and support which keeps our staff and crews motivated to keep going until all power has been restored. We will continue to have two crews working throughout the night restoring power. We are signing off social media for the night but will be back in the morning.
* Connie Karlsson on Facebook – Snuggled in bed, after a warm shower, in a warm house with a light on never felt so good. Thank you to all the folks that worked tirelessly through dangerous situations over a cherished holiday time! You are my heroes!!
* Mayor Bonnette tweets “No matter what, this will be one Christmas we will never forget. Hope #icestorm2013 never repeats. #HaltonHills citizens have been troopers.”
Boxing Day, Dec 26
* 8 a.m. Mayor Bonnette tweets: There is a buzz in HaltonHills today. The sound of chain saws cutting more broken limbs, branches. We are getting there.
* Halton Police tweets: “Until we get the “all clear” from hydro take this chance to restock emergency supplies
If you reported “popping and exploding” sounds over the last few days you weren’t hearing things check out “frostquake”
Road conditions are no any better today. Keep the insanity for your shopping frenzies. Pay attention on the roads several collisions yesterday
* Halton Hills Hydro tweets: Additional crews are here!! We have 10 line crews and over 20 tree trimming crews to assist with the final push.
* Mayor Bonnette tweets: What an adrenaline rush to see those trucks convoy in.
* 9 a.m. Skidmore daily briefing: Halton Hills Hydro and contractor crews worked throughout Christmas day and evening on a rotating basis to continue the restoration effort for customers. As of today, Boxing Day, about 1,700 customers remain without power. But there are many individual outages that are due to damage on customer premises. “Today, the hydro crew complement has been strengthened with the addition of two crews from London Hydro, four crews from Dundas Powerlines, two crews from Bluewater Power in Sarnia, two crews from Waterloo North Hydro and one crew from Oakville Hydro. They join crews from Westmore Powerlines, Westario Power, Welland Hydro, Davey Tree, Quality Tree, and Asplundh. They have all agreed to support us until everyone is reconnected. Today, Boxing Day, crews will continue to work in all affected areas in: Glen Williams/Limehouse, Norval/Ninth Line, Ashgrove, Georgetown, Acton, Silvercreek, Ballinafad
* 2 p.m. The IFP reports: “The storm came as advertised and then some,” said Mayor Rick Bonnette. “While we still have a lot of work to do, there’s more than just the buzz of chain saws in the air, there’s also a strong sense of community and appreciation for the efforts of staff who have worked through the holiday to address the ice storm damage. I’m very impressed by the way everyone is pulling their weight.”
* The two warming centres in Acton and Georgetown remain open and available for those in need. Residents are also using the evacuation centre at the Gellert Community Centre on Eighth Line (Main St.). These three buildings will remain open as long as the need persists, said the mayor.
* The Town remains in regular contact with the Province’s Emergency Management Office.
* The Town’s Public Works department are on the street, clearing roads of snow that fell overnight as well as tree clean-ups.
* Skidmore said with the additional crews the big push is on, and hopefully reconnection of almost all residents will be completed by Friday night or Saturday morning.
* All Town facilities- arena and recreation centres- will be open Friday and all regular recreation programs will operate as scheduled.
“We fully appreciate the hardship and stress this situation has caused. I thank everyone for their continued patience. Everyone is doing their best and things are gradually improving,” said Bonnette.
* 3:30 p.m. In a Special Weather Statement issued for Halton Hills-Milton, Environment Canada warned of moderate winds through early evening for regions most affected by the ice storm. These wind speeds would normally have little or no impact, however with trees remaining heavily ice covered, this may be enough to bring down additional branches, resulting in further sporadic power outages, the Statement said.
* Community volunteers are helping to prepare and deliver food to the hungry Hydro crews trying to re-connect the town`s power grid. Volunteers like Councillor Jon Hurst (second from left) brings food into the Halton Hills Hydro office for the many employees working there, before heading out to deliver food to Hydro crews where they are working. The Hydro crews only take a break long enough to eat in their trucks and then continue their work. Tonight Councillors Jane Fogal, Ann Lawlor and Moya Johnson made and brought chili to the workers.
* Councillor Moya Johnson tweets: re Thank you to the volunteers. and Dave and Gerry Kentner who also brought Chili. Gerry’s was the best!
Jane Fogal tweets: Happy to do something useful. +FUN it was a great crew.
* Councillor Moya Johnson tweets: Thank you #Sobeys #Acton for donating supplies to our hydro crews. #HaltonHills” GR8t community support from local business
* 8 p.m. Mayor Rick Bonnette tweets: Hwy 25 just south of Acton got power. A happy resident just emailed me. Also Ottawa and Welland (hydro crews) working 25 and 15 Sideroads.
* Vicky Inglis on Facebook: My mother in law on Normandy still doesn’t have power 86 years old!
(Power was restored on Normandy on Dec. 26 just after midnight)
* Karen McBride Thank you thank you thank you. I happened to wake up (live on Carole) and saw your truck driving away when the power was restored. You came, you fixed and conquered and then were driving off to the next ones who need your help. You were our heroes this week!
* Halton Hills Hydro tweets: Additional crews are here!! We have 10 line crews and over 20 tree trimming crews to assist with the final push.
* Halton Hills Hydro on Facebook: We have a number of tree trimming crews working in Limehouse today. We can’t energize a feeder until all the trees from it are clear and it is slow going. Given the amount of trees down in that area I can’t give anything specific other than to assure you that we do have crews working there now.
* Sharon Ayers Still no power on 25 between 22 and up to 25 side road. We where told that workers would be doing our area and we are still with out power. Would like to know what is going on here please????????
Halton Hills Hydro we’ve had tree trimming crews working today on 25 but our line crews can’t energize until the tree trimming work is done. It’s very slow going unfortunately.
* Lisa Shoebridge on Facebook: Any crews working in Limehouse?
Halton Hills Hydro: Yes we have had a number of tree trimming crews working in Limehouse today. I don’t have an ETA for restoration though.
* Ryan Bensen on Facebook: Any update for 10th sideroad/Hwy 25 area?
Halton Hills Hydro: We’ve had tree trimming crews working there today but I don’t have a status update.
* Brenda Speers on Facebook: Also Ninth Line north of Glen Williams. Haven’t seen a truck of any kind in our area.
* Nadia Figliola on Facebook: Inching closer to third line….hopefully these are the last two buckets of snow we have to melt to flush the toilets!!
* Eowyn Anduin on Facebook: My house is up to 10C. It was at 2C this afternoon. It will be toasty by the morning. Thank you
* Tina Norman on Facebook: Thanks for all of your hard work & time away from your families. 100 hours without power! Thank you for your efforts.
* Jeffry Rottluff on Facebook: After almost five days with out power it finally came back on at 7:15 p.m. here on Chapel Street. Please forward a thank to your hard working crew!
* Halton Hills Hydro on Facebook: Thanks to everyone for posting and sharing on this site. The past week has been tremendously frustrating. The comments on this site let us know we weren’t alone and helped us survive this ordeal. Going without power for 5-6 days, at Christmas, in the bitter cold, was gruelling. Please post when you get power – so great to hear the good news!!
* 11 p.m. RickBonnette tweets: HaltonHills Hydro reports around 800 customers without power. 2 days ago was 3500. Big gains. Still more to go. Trying our best.
* 11 p.m. Halton Hills Hydro tweets: Thank you again to our customers for your continued support and encouraging comments. We have crews continuing to work through the night. We are signing off of social media for the night, we will be back in the morning.
Friday, Dec 27
* 8 a.m. Wendy Bruchal tweets: I love Halton Hills. During the ice storm neighbours helping each other. random acts of kindness the true spirit of the holidays
* 8 am. Mayor Bonnette tweets: I am hearing now hwy 25 south from Acton to Milton is energized.
* 8:30 a.m. Halton Hills Hydro tweets: At 1 a.m. power was restored to 5 Sidefoad between Eighth line and Ninth line.
* Councillor Jane Fogal tweets: Thanks to guys working through the night.
* 12 p.m. Christian Febel tweets: don’t walk under the wires in Georgetown large chunks of ice falling
* 12 p.m. Brenda Speers on Facebook: Looking forward to seeking some trucks on Ninth north of Bishop Court.
* 1:30 p.m. Halton Police tweets: Snowmobilers beware of fallen branches/ trees, on trails or hidden under snow. Hikers beware of ice buildup on trees and thick ice underfoot
* 1:30 p.m. Halton Hills Hydro tweets: FYI: We have had a couple of feeders trip affecting nearly 4000 customers. The feeders have been restored and holding. Crews are responding and investigating the root causes.
* 2 p.m. MPP Ted Arnott tweets: Len McMillan, VP Field Ops, Hydro One told me just now that they hope to send 5 bucket trucks with “forestry” staff to Halton Hills today.
* In his daily briefing Halton Hills Hydro President and CEO Art Skidmore says hydro crews are making steady progress in their restoration efforts. Another 800 customers were reconnected on Thursday, leaving another 900 without power for a seventh day, he said. Skidmore said the current crews have now been joined by additional resources from Brantford Power, Guelph Hydro and Kitchener-Wilmot Hydro.
* The restoration effort continues in all affected areas, including Glen Williams. Limehouse, Norval/Ninth Line, Ashgrove, Silvercreek, Ballinafad, Georgetown, Acton.“We continue to work on reconnections,” said Skidmore. “Many customers who are still without power suffered damage to the equipment that connects their home to the power lines. These repairs must be completed by a licensed electrician. Customers who have had damage to their service stack and meter base can call our Customer Care Centre at 519-853-3701 for a more detailed explanation or check the following websites: www.haltonhillshydro.com or www.esasafe.com
* 2 p.m. Shelli Harrison on Facebook: For those who still don’t have power, Rod at Wicked Beauty Centre is offering free hair washes. They are located at 184 Guelph St. (across from the Superstore).
* 4 p.m. Halton Hills Hydro reminds customers with a damaged privately-owned primary pole line, that a pole-line contractor will have to be hired to clear their line and make repairs before we can energize the service.
* 4:15 p.m. A confirmed feeder lockout on the Glen Williams 11F1 has resulted in a crew dispatch. Area affected includes 22 Sideroad between Sixth and Eighth Lines, Trafalgar Rd between 27 Sideroad and 22 Sideroad. Also included is Wildwood Rd. area. Estimated restoration time is 5p.m.
* 4:20 p.m. MPP Ted Arnott tweets: When the hydro emergency is finally over, a formal review should be undertaken. What went right? What would they do differently next time?
* 5:15 p.m. Mayor Bonnette tweets: Best quote from a senior still without power. “This is nothing compared to child birth.” That is Halton Hills tough.
* 5:20 p.m. Daniela Webb on Facebook: Thank you for re-restoring our power on 22nd.
Gabrielle St George- Hey Daniela, do you happen to know if it’s on for Sixth Line south of 22nd?
Daniela Webb – Crews were working there all afternoon, but with the carnage, they will be a while. 22nd didn’t look half as bad and it still took them two full days to restore ours.
* 6:30 p.m. Halton Hills Hydro Facebook: Please be advised that ESA has extended its call centre hours this weekend for ice-storm related inquires/connection authorizations as follows: Friday, December 27 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday, December 28 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Sunday, December 29 10 a.m. to 9 p.m http://www.esasafe.com/
* 7 p.m. Halton Hills Hydro: As of 6:40 p.m. power was restored to 17 Sideroad from Hwy 25 to Townline Rd. and Townline Rd. from 20 Sideroad to 15 Sideroad. including Deer Run Cres.
* At 7:15 p.m. Confederation Street was restored between Bishop Crt. to Glen Crescent Dr.
Wanda Yeo Doyle on Facebook: Please say you are working your way up north on confederation! Soooooo close to me!
Brian Robinson: Glad to here it was restored, how about the rest of us less than a kilometre north of Bishop Court who are heading into our 7th night without power and water. You bring in Waterloo North Hydro to restore power to people who have already had power but leave us powerless. Thanks for nothing. Oh yeah saw 5 hydro trucks on Eighth Line north of Wildwood, guess what ,they have also had power for 2 days.Unbelievable
Wanda Yeo Doyle: Nothing exists past Bishop Court ….everything seems to come up the road and stop there!
Brenda Speers: I agree Wanda. Would have been nice had the workers continued north where we have not had power. It seems the Ninth Line doesn’t exist past Bishop Court.
* 8:30 p.m. Halton Hills Facebook: Thank you again to our customers for your continued support and encouraging comments. We have crews continuing to work through the night. We are signing off of social media for the night, we will be back in the morning.
Leanne Roffel-Boven I see flashing lights on sixth line. Hope that’s a good sign! Waiting patiently. Thanks for the hard work. It’s been a long week for all of us!
Janice Sexton Keep going Halton Hills! your doing it right!
Kelly Martin Thank you for working so hard. We are very pleased to have our power back on (sixth line north of 7).
Lisa Hayes-Parenti I saw quite a few go by on Sixth too! So exciting!
Deb MacKenzie Thankyou. I see you inching ever so closely to 5th line south of 22nd Sideroad . We’re cheering you on.
* 8:40 p.m. Ted Arnott, MPP tweets: Glad to be updated again just now by Len McMillan, VP Field Ops, Hydro One. Their forestry crews will be working in Halton Hills tomorrow am
* 8:45 p.m. Mayor Bonnette tweets: It is almost hand to hand combat for tree trimmers and multitude of Hydro crews to bring Hydro to rural
* 9:05 p.m. Jody Johnson tweets: Best thing I may have ever seen….a hydro truck!!!
* 9:38 p.m. Special weather statement for Halton Hills – Milton issued. The much anticipated melting from the ice storm is almost upon us. Temperatures will edge up overnight to near the freezing mark in those areas most affected by the ice storm. And it is expected to remain above freezing for roughly 36 hours or so until it cools off again Sunday night. This will be more than sufficient to melt all ice off of trees, buildings and other structures. The good news is that the milder temperatures will aid hydro workers’ restoration efforts, as well as homeowners who remain without power.
* 11 p.m. Red Cross Halton tweets: We still have a shelter at the Gellert Centre, Georgetown. Food, showers, cots, friendship. If you still have no power, we’re there for you.
Saturday, December 28
* 7:25 a.m. Halton Region Police (Halton Hills-Milton detachment) tweets: North Halton experiencing sporadic outages. Use cautions at intersections. The wind has picked up and branches falling
If you haven’t done so already restock that emergency response kit – we are not out of the woods yet
Reminder if you locate downed wires stay at least 10 metres away. Consider all downed wires and the ground around it, live.
* 8:35 a.m.Halton Hills Hydro is advising customers that further power outages are possible as rising temperatures and strong wind gusts are expected Saturday and overnight and we will respond as quickly as possible.
* 7:40 a.m. Jody Johnson THANK YOU @HHHydro, #HaltonHills, out of town forces & @RickBonnette1….power has arrived..you guys are awesome! Thx for continued effort.
So nice to finally see the tree we decorated by flashlight on the 23rd all lit up…thanks @HHHydro, #HaltonHills and @RickBonnette1!
*8 a.m. The IFP reports: In his daily briefing on Saturday, Dec. 28 to Halton Hills customers, President and CEO Art Skidmore said there are approximately 304 customers that still need power restored not including individual damaged services. It is our intention that all distribution lines will be restored by Sunday morning. Thank you for your continued patience.
* 9 a.m. Halton Hills Hydro on Facebook: Halton Hills Hydro is advising customers that further power outages are possible as rising temperatures and strong wind gusts are expected Saturday and overnight and we will respond as quickly as possible.
* 10 a.m. Isabel Grasby Owen on Facebook: Power’s out on Elgin..again..melting ice..the branches caught are dropping quick..i heard a loud bang and darkness..hydro is a gift..hope people who haven’t had it get theirs on..me and my three sweaters are friends:-)
* 11 a.m. Katie Downes on Facebook: If anyone is interested, I’ve assembled a group of volunteers to go door to door offering hot water, to fill tea kettles, hot coffee and hot chocolate for children. This will be our third day, Mcdonalds is supplying me with the materials to do this. If anyone wants to join us call me this morning we assemble at my house at noon today, 2 Cleaveholm Drive. If you know of a senior or family with young children that should be checked on you can text me, we have two apartments available to house people and two generators on call to power some houses. Cheers everyone
* 11 a.m. Mayor Bonnette tweets: Huge THANK YOU to #Acton Bethel Church for supplying both lunch and dinner to Halton Hills Hydro crews. Meals are delivered to crews in trucks
* 12 p.m. Mayor Bonnette tweets: Acton Christian Bethel church is in need of potato peelers as they are preparing meals for Halton Hills Hydro crews. Call church for info.
* 12 p.m. Peter Henn on Facebook: I was driving home from work yesterday and was passing some crewmen working on the 5th line north of Hwy7, one of the guys was getting something out of the truck as I slowed to drive by. I opened my window and said ” So, we’re 6 days into this now, how many hours have you put in?”, “I’m sure too tired to even do the math, “ he said ” What’s 6 times 16?, that’s how many hours I’ve put in”. 96 HOURS!! I looked him in the eye and said ” thank you”.
* 1.40 p.m. Brenda Speers on Facebook: Yay. Power back on, Ninth Line from Bishop Court to Clayhill
* 1:45 p.m. Joanna Adema on Facebook: Any idea when the power will be restored on 5th line between 22nd sideroad and 17th?
Halton Hills Hydro: We have blanketed our entire rural area with crews. We are expecting power to be fed to all streets by tomorrow morning.
Daniela Webb: Driving by today, I saw construction signs and heard a lot of chainsaws in that area.
* 2:40 p.m. Mayor Bonnette: Those have power and it goes off. Not to panic. It is ice falling on the lines. Power will be easier to restore than it was on Sunday.
* 3 p.m. Lacey Cameron on Facebook: The issue ( =damaged service to house) was fixed. My landlord had the trees removed. All they have to do is turn the fuse on…
Halton Hills Hydro: Today we have some crews doing nothing but restoring power to individual services. We have several hundred of these services to get to. Please call 1-855-226-4173 to have your service restored.
* 4:30 p.m. Jody Johnson tweets: Lots of activity in the kitchen at Bethel church Acton getting dinner ready for hydro crews!
* 5 p.m. Dandridge Cres resident Joanne Schmidt to Mayor, Skidmore and The IFP: Do you know how many individual customers are without power because of downed lines to their homes? Do they know that they need to have their house inspected before they will be placed on a list for service? I only found this out today and only because I phone Hydro . We advised the 3 other homes on our street that they now need to have an electrician come out and have any work inspected by ESA to get on a list to have their homes reconnected. None of them knew this. How many days or weeks would they be sitting there in the dark before this information would get to them? ….
* 8:27 p.m. Skidmore replies: As you know the storm took a significant toll on the electrical distribution system of Halton Hills Hydro. Our community has almost 900km of distribution lines and at the height of the storm every customer in Halton Hills was without power. As you can imagine the utility was put in Emergency mode. Our focus from the beginning of the event was to restore the distribution system as quickly and as safely as possible. It was a team effort between our crews of HHH, the Town staff and the significant additional resources that bolstered our restoration team from HHH line staff of 12 to almost 100. Our website information was updated yesterday to discuss the responsibility of the customer. Regrettably there are gaps and this was one of them. We should have provided the information on our website sooner. We have five service crews on the road connecting customers with ESA inspection forms. In our post mortem discussions of this storm and our response we will certainly address the issues you have raised.
* 5:30 p.m. Mayor Rick Bonnette tweets: We are down to fine strokes to restoring power to HaltonHills. It’s been an amazing day and we are getting there. Lots of one offs to be hooked
* 6:01 p.m. Mayor Rick Bonnette tweets: Kudos to HHHydro President Art Skidmore + staff for a dedicated week to restore power. Art has been 7am 2 midnight all week.
* 6:13 p.m. Acton BIA tweets: Art Skidmore the President of Halton Hills Hydro has been amazing thru this crisis! Thanks Art and your dedicated staff
* 7:29 p.m. Councillor Moya Johnson tweets: ALL DONE! Everyone back up and running? Amazing feeling! It’s been a long week. Well done all!
* 11:25 p.m. MPP Ted Arnott tweets: Thank you Mayor Rick Bonnette for all the updates via Twitter, and for your and Council’s outstanding leadership throughout the past week.
*11:28 p.m. MPP Ted Arnott tweets: Special thanks also to Halton Hill Hydro staff, superbly led by Art Skidmore, and all the volunteers. Everyone of you made a huge difference
* 11:47 p.m. Joanne Schmidt: Thank-you both (Skidmore and Bonnette) for your attention and detailed response to my concern. I am indeed very grateful to learn that our house will have power restored. I hope that others in our situation will learn of their responsibilities quickly so that they too can receive assistance.
* 12:03 a.m. Mayor Bonnette: Joanne it was trying times for many including you. It was a storm of many decades. You were a trooper. There are lessoned learned. Very happy you are powered.
Sunday, Dec. 29
* 5:20 a.m. Environment Canada predicted mild temperatures but 40 per cent chance of flurries this evening and after midnight. Winds southwest 20 km/hr becoming northwest 30 km/hr, gusting to 50 km/hr this evening.
* 8 a.m. Halton Hills Hydro social media rep signs on for the day, informing customers of power restorations done overnight.
* 8:43 a.m. Mayor Rick Bonnette tweets: Good morning Halton Hills What a difference a week makes. Last week no one had power. You were patient, supportive to each other. Good job.
*8:45 p.m. Art Skidmore Halton Hills Hydro tweets and on Facebook, website: Halton Hills Hydro outage update for December 29. Halton Hills Hydro is pleased to report that all distribution lines have been fully restored. If you are still without power please contact our office at 519-853-3701. We continue to work on reconnections. Many customers who are without power suffered damage to the equipment that connects their home to the power lines. These repairs must be completed by a licensed electrician. Customers who have had damage to their service stack and meter base can call our Customer Care Centre at 519-853-3701 for a more detailed explanation or check the following websites: www.haltonhillshydro.com or www.esasafe.com. Our Customer Care department will open today Sunday December 29 @ 8:30 am
* 8:45 a.m. Mayor Rick Bonnette tweets: Good bye #icestorm2013 may you never return. Next time I hear the word ice it better be the sound in my glass.
Timeline of the Ice Storm of 2013
On the night of Friday, Dec. 20, freezing rain began to fall on Halton Hills. By the afternoon of Sunday, Dec. 22, devastation has come to town and stayed for week.
More than 30 mm of ice coated trees, lines and buildings with power to 100 per cent of the Halton Hills Hydro’s 23,000 customers was down. Trees, limbs and hydro poles were snapped littering the streets. Some neighbourhoods’ power returned later that day, but in other neighbourhoods, chaos was an unwelcome Christmas visitor.
Over the course of the week, crews have come from as far away as Ottawa and Sarnia swelling Halton Hills Hydro’s complement of 12 linemen to over 100, working 16 hours days. Assisting Halton Hills Hydro are tree contractors: Davey Tree Service, Quality Tree Service (Georgetown), Asplundh Tree Service; utilities: Westario Power (Kincardine, Port Elgin and Hanover), Woodstock Hydro, Welland Hydro, London Hydro, Bluewater Power (Sarnia), Waterloo North Hydro, Oakville Hydro, Brantford Power, Guelph Hydro and Kitchener-Wilmot Hydro and Hydro One and electrical contractors: Westmore Powerlines and Dundas Powerlines.
Town staff provided support throughout, road clearing, tree trimming, going on Community Watch at seniors residences, fighting a house fire, and manning warming evacuation centres.
Halton Police responded to calls, directed traffic and also hosted a warming centre at the Georgetown Station.
Volunteers like Katie Downes and Kathleen Dills and local churches jumped into the fray, organizing volunteer drives for dinners for hydro crews, Christmas meals, going door to door with hot drinks and foods for those without power.
Here is a timeline of events as they unfolded, culled from news reports, Facebook postings and tweets.
Thursday, Dec. 19
* The IFP reports: Environment Canada issues its first Freezing Rain Warning – ice accretion of up to 5 mm can be expected in some places. After a break Saturday, another more potent storm approaches southern Ontario Saturday evening into Sunday. There is a risk that this could be a major ice storm for an appreciable swath of southern Ontario.
Friday, Dec 20
* The IFP reports: Environment Canada issues its second warning. A second and stronger system could bring a major ice storm to the regions late Saturday into Sunday morning.
Saturday, Dec 21
* Power outages were reported by Halton Hills Hydro – North East Rural Glen Williams area, Hornby area and southeast and southwest Georgetown. Power was restored by crews.
* Halton Hills Hydro on Facebook: alerts residents it posts power outage information on its website and Facebook and Twitter. If you do experience an outage that HHH hasn’t reported, please call the office. 519-853-3701 or after hours at 1-855-226-4173. Please keep in mind that during a major outage, the phone system may be overloaded so please be patient.
* 9 p.m. The IFP reports: Halton Hills Hydro crews have been responding all day to ongoing power outages throughout the town. Currently residents in Acton, north-central Georgetown, Glen Williams and the rural area are sitting in the dark.
* The IFP reports: Environment Canada has continued its Freezing Rain Warning forecasting a major ice storm forecast this evening into Sunday morning. Additional freezing rainfall amounts on the order of 20 to 30 mm are possible by Sunday morning. As a result, ice accumulation on trees and power lines could potentially create widespread power outages and downed trees or tree limbs. Driving conditions on untreated roads could become very hazardous.
* The IFP reports: Mayor Rick Bonnette says “I don’t think anybody in Halton Hills slept more than two hours on Saturday night because ‘crack!’ then ‘crack !’ there goes another tree. One street, Jeffery in Acton, was just like a war zone, you couldn’t have negotiated a car through.”
Sunday, Dec 22
* Halton Hills Hydro on Facebook: 30 mm of ice accumulation reported so far in Georgetown per the Weather Network.
* 8 a.m. Halton Hills Hydro tweets: Halton Hills Hydro is currently experiencing a sustained power outage due to the current weather conditions and ice buildup. Branches are breaking off trees above the lines as quickly as they are cleared. We expect this outage to continue for an extended period and appreciate your patience as our crews work around the clock to restore power
* Main feeder lines start going down – creating widespread blackouts throughout the 280 sq. kilometre area. The ice storm has caused major damage. Crews are working around the clock to clear trees off the lines and restore power. Freezing rain is a safety concern for everyone right now. The main focus is restoring power to the main feeders.
* 9 a.m. The IFP reports – The first day of winter today, Sunday, will be a nasty day of ice, wind and cold. Significant ice accumulation on trees and power lines is creating widespread power outages and downed trees or tree limbs.
Since yesterday morning, Halton Hills Hydro crews has been working non-stop to restore power to various sections of the town. No area has been spared … Georgetown, Acton, Limehouse, Ballinafad, Hornby have all been affected by the loss of power at some time in the last 24 hours.
* Halton Hills-Milton detachment of Halton Regional Police tweets: “All our calls right now are for ‘unsafe conditions’
* Halton Hills Hydro tweets: “Crews working to restore, but heavy ice build-up on trees and lines.”
* Mayor Rick Bonnette tweets: “Halton Hills Hydro is doing everything to restore power but the weather is not cooperating. Too many trees are broken.”
* Councillor Jane Fogal tweets: “Power still off and no wonder. Dawn shows devastation of trees. And the eerie sound of huge icy limbs crashing continues every few minutes.”
* Councillor Moya Johnson tweets: “No power and lots of trees/branches down in central Georgetown. Stay home and don’t travel unless you have to.”
* 10 a.m. Environment Canada continues Freezing Rain Warning continuing until at least the afternoon. Additional freezing rainfall amounts in the order of 10 to 15 mm are possible today. Wind increasing this morning will gust 30 to 50 kilometres per hour may also cause damage to structures and trees due to the weight of ice accumulation.
* 11 a.m. Mayor Bonnette tweets: Town of Halton Hills has closed all of its facilities today including arenas and pools.
* 11 a.m. Halton Hills Hydro President and CEO Art Skidmore releases statement: The current ice storm has hit our municipality very significantly. Halton Hills Hydro considers this a Major Emergency as we have sustained outages in many parts of our community. Our crews are working around the clock to clear trees off our lines and restore power.The ice on the branches of trees is causing trees to tear down our distribution lines. Hydro’s phone lines are overloaded with the high volume and it may take a while to get through. The after hours number is 1-855-226-4173 if an outage or downed lines to report.
* 12 p.m. Mayor Bonnette releases message to the media: “I want to assure you that Halton Hills Hydro are doing their best to restore power, the main issue is the falling trees throughout our Town as well as the below zero temperatures
Almost all stores are closed. Town facilities are all closed, traffic lights are out in many locations. I encourage residents to stay home unless it is an absolute emergency. Even walking is a hazard with the tree branches falling.
If your power is out, your neighbour’s are also out. Please check on them if they are a senior or have accessibility issues. In the meantime please be patient, this storm has come as advertised and then some.”
* 1:17 p.m. Freezing Rain Warning for Halton Hills-Milton has ended. However light freezing drizzle continues, ending later this afternoon. Winds are coming from the northeast at 20 km/h, gusting to 40 km/h. Temperatures will drop tonight to -5 C.
* 4 p.m. Halton Hills Hydro announcement: Customers should plan for a lengthy outage. “Our main focus is restoring power to our main electricity feeders, once this has been completed we will start restoration to individual customers,” said Skidmore. “I want to thank all customers for their patience and understanding during these difficult circumstances. Our priority is to return service as quickly as possible, while ensuring the safety of our crews. Thank you for your continued support.”
* Mayor Rick Bonnette tweets: Halton Hills firefighters are working with the Town’s public works employees using chain saws. “Everyone is pulling together as best we can,” the mayor said, adding that it’s very frustating for Halton Hills Hydro crews. “They get one area cleared than another branch or tree crashes down.” … “branches are falling like toothpicks.”
* Sunday afternoon: members of St. Alban’s Church in Acton brought food for the hydro crews and to the various homes without power in the community.
* 5 p.m. Councillor Moya Johnson tweets: her power had been off for more than 12 hours and heated coffee and tea on her barbecue outside. “This tree about to fall on our house. Trees falling every minute. Yikes”
* 5 p.m. the 15F3 main feeder was energized. From King St to Elena Crt and from Rosetta to Guelph. Streets that were not energized are Arletta and Murdoch that had extensive damage. Crew is heading back to work on these streets. (Restoring power to ~580 customers)
* 5 p.m. another main feeder energized. The entire feeder is on with the exception of 1 transformer on the Fifth Line . This covers Fifth line to Sixth Line and 27 Sideroad to 32 Sideroad. (Restoring power to ~400 customers)
* 8 p.m. Town opens two warming centres for residents who are still without power.
The Acton Fire Hall, 21 Churchill Rd, and the Halton Regional Police Services building, 217 Guelph Street in Georgetown, will remain so as long as the need exists.
“The health and safety of our residents is of paramount importance. Anyone who is still without power and therefore has no heat is welcome to go to one of these warming centres,” said Mayor Rick Bonnette.
* Halton Hills Hydro reports that outages will likely persist for an extended period and anyone without power at this moment should not expect hydro to return this evening. Residents should be prepared to make arrangements for outages that could last for days.
* The IFP reports: Mayor Bonnette cautions all residents to stay clear of downed wires and to not walk underneath trees which are still bearing the weight of the ice from the storm. Due to the overwhelming amount of ice and damage, public works crews have not had an opportunity to salt local roads or sidewalks, residents are asked to take extra care in those areas. All Town equipment has been dispatched and crews are being assisted where appropriate by Halton Hills firefighters.
The Town is also working closely with Regional staff to ensure the safety of people living in seniors’ residences and other similar facilities and are relocating people as needed.
“We appreciate the patience everyone has demonstrated during this very stressful time. Town staff is working diligently and we are striving to bring things back to normal as soon as we can,” added Mayor Bonnette.
* 8 p.m. The IFP reports: Thousands of Halton Hills Hydro customers remain without power this evening.“We are continuing to deal with extensive power outages throughout our service territory,” said Skidmore, in a message posted through social media tonight (Sunday). “Our crews are working diligently to clear trees and branches off our lines. However, as the freezing temperatures continue and winds have increased new problems are being reported as more ice covered trees and branches are falling. This is complicating our efforts to restore power.”
If you do not have power now, please prepare for a night without electricity, Skidmore said.
* 9 p.m. Region opens Emergency Operations Centre to provide support to the community.
* Environment Canada releases Special Weather Statement for Halton Hills-Milton.
Freezing drizzle is expected this evening but that will end. The ice storm left anywhere from 10 to 30 millimetres of ice on surfaces and trees. Moderate westerly to northwesterly winds of 20 to 40 kilometres will develop this evening and continue through Monday. There may be continued impacts from the ice storm from these winds due to tree branches falling.
Monday, December 23
* 6 a.m. Halton Hills Hydro on Facebook: Power restored in Main feeder serving Hornby and southeast Georgetown.
* Karen Adcock on Facebook – Power finally back on at 6 a.m. this morning. Don’t know if the store has power. Even the cats found it cold in here last night. Thank God for Tim Hortons.
Josie Lauricella Widdifield: How long was your power out? Ours was about 7 hours–but through the day not night.
Karen Adcock:Ours went out 10:30 p.m. on Saturday
* 6:29 a.m. Halton Hills Hydro on Facebook: Power outages continue to happen Halton Hills Hydro
Rural Ashgrove and Stewarttown area (23F2) has been affected by a power interruption. Crews have been notified and dispatched
North West rural Acton area (5F1) has been affected by a power interruption. Crews have been notified and dispatched.
8 a.m. Halton Police tweets: We only had one 87 year old visitor to the police warming centre. She was well cared for and transported home. Please lend a hand to seniors
Just remember the hydro workers don’t have a secret store of electricity for their own families. They want it back as fast as you do
* 9 a.m. The IFP reports: Thousands of Halton Hills Hydro customers are still without power today, however the utility made moderate progress overnight.
Art Skidmore, President & CEO, Halton Hills Hydro said in a statement on their Facebook page additional resources have been brought in from outside the community to assist with the restoration, notably tree cutting and electrical contractors. This has tripled the complement of crews working on the restoration.
Halton Hills Hydro is also extending the hours of its Customer Care Centre and can be reached at 519-853-3701.
* 10 a.m. Cynthia Gamble tweets: Traffic lights out all along Guelph St. creating major traffic jams. Be patient and treat as four-way stop.
* 10:20 a.m. Cynthia Gamble tweets: Georgetown Market Place is open serving hot coffee and hot foods to lots of cold folks
* 11 a.m. Halton Police tweets: Officers out at traffic duty Mountainview/Guelph lights out and volume of traffic is high Lots of places closed call before leaving home
*2 p.m. Region offers enhanced bulk brush collection after ice storm to assist residents with clean up from this weekend’s ice storm until Jan. 31. For details call 311 or www.halton.ca
* Comment posted on The IFP site: “Is this someone’s idea of a joke? Nothing bigger than 3″ and one bundle limit? I only lost one large tree and this won’t even begin to help me!”
* 2 p.m. Gellert Community Centre now evacuation site for residents without power
Gellert Community Centre is now an evacuation site for area residents who are still without power. The Centre, 10241 Eighth Line, has cots set up, food, showers, etc. and will remain open as long as the need exists. Warming sites remain open and are located at the Acton Fire Hall, 21 Churchill Rd. South, and the Halton Regional Police Services building, 217 Guelph Street in Georgetown.
* Main roads are in good shape, and in additional staff brought in to assist in the clean-up and are making progress with local roads. Icy conditions, downed power lines and tree limbs still pose a risk to safety.
* 11 a.m. The IFP reports: as of Monday morning, 75 per cent of Georgetown customers didn’t have hydro, but the good news was that most of Acton, which hadn’t had power since Saturday night, had been reconnected, except for a couple of small areas.
“Halton Hills got the worst of the storm,” Skidmore said. “We got nailed.”
The ice on the trees snapped branches off all across the town, many of them landing on or pulling down hydro wires as they fell. Skidmore said at least six hydro poles had been broken, but crews hadn’t been able to get to those yet.
“The trees are our culprit,” said Skidmore. “The ice was unbelievable.”
* Hydro crews have been working 16-hour rotating shifts and four private tree contractors have been brought in to help remove downed branches and trees.
HHH sought help from other hydro companies, but no one is available as they’re all out dealing with hydro outages in their own communities.
* Halton Police tweets that over the weekend only one person, an 87-year-old, visited the warming centre at the Georgetown Police Station.
* Michelle Lemme of Colonial Tree Service: The ice storm has meant for “pretty much mayhem. Lemme said the crews had been working with hydro companies to remove branches from lines, and also for individual residents with downed trees.
“We’re trying to deal with prioritized emergencies,” said Lemme.
* 3 p.m. Extreme Cold Alert issued by the Halton Region Health Department starting Tuesday night. This alert is issued when temperatures are expected to fall below -15C (without wind-chill), or when weather conditions are severe enough to warrant alerting the community to the risks involved with prolonged exposure.
* 4:34 p.m. Halton Hills Hydro on Facebook: Crews from Halton Hills Hydro have continued to work on restoring power to Halton Hills. While we have successfully restored several of our substations, a great deal of work remains. Unfortunately, based on our most current assessment of the damage and progress to date, some customers may remain without power for at least another 72 hours. …
* 11:36 p.m. Halton Hills Hydro: Thank you for all the kind words, continued patience and support. We are signing off for the night. Crews are still hard at work throughout the night restoring power.
Christmas Eve, Dec. 24
* 8 a.m. Halton Hills Hydro on Facebook: We understand that many customers want more specific restoration times, unfortunately that information is constantly evolving. Restoration times vary significantly from one area to another depending on the amount of damage. At the present time, we have multiple crews throughout our territory including: Georgetown, Ballinafad, Ashgrove, Silvercreek, and Glen Williams. We would like to thank the additional crews from Davey Tree, Quality Tree, Asplundh, Westario Utilities, and Welland Hydro who have arrived to assist and together with Halton Hills Hydro they will be working through the holidays to restore power. Everyone in Halton Hills Hydro is a priority and our staff will be here to help. Our phone lines will be open on Christmas Day at 8:30 a.m.
8 a.m. Halton Police tweets: Wires down Dayfoot/Mill St G’town. Reroute. Remember assume all wires are live DO NOT GO WITHIN 10 metres
* 10:35 a.m. Halton Hills Hydro on Facebook: Power has been restored to Sinclair Av. from Mountainview Rd. to Guelph St. South of Sinclair Ave., Raylawn Cres. from Duncan Dr. to Langstone Cres., Duncan Dr., Gower Rd., Moultrey Cres., Langstone Cres. Crews continue to work in this area clearing and restoring power although a vehicle accident was just reported that may affect services.
* 12:56 p.m. Halton Hills Hydro tweets: Our crews are working around the clock to restore power. Should you see a crew working in the field, please do not approach them for an update. The crews are unable to provide any information and any time spent speaking to concerned customers is time they are not able to work towards restoring power. Any updates on restorations can be found on our www.haltonhillshydro.com, Facebook and Twitter sites or please call the office.
* The IFP reports: Despite the devastation to their neighbourhood, the Christmas spirit is still alive on Miller Drive in Georgetown. Neighbours and friends helped each other to cut down the remains of their trees, including the boulevard tree in front of 119 Miller Drive. Instead of leaving a “stump” behind, friends Steve, Tim, and Joe, decided to leave a little bit of humor and Christmas cheer for passersby – a tree stump dressed as an unhappy snowman.
* 2 p.m. The IFP reports: 3,500 customers still without power. That’s down from all HHH customers— about 23,000— who were without power at the peak of the ice storm which struck the area this past weekend. Additional crews from Welland and the Kincardine area (Westario Power) are expected to arrive Tuesday afternoon to help.
* Most urban customers are now reconnected, but a significant number of rural customers still don’t have power, said Mayor Rick Bonnette at a press conference Tuesday. The rural residents, and those who live in Georgetown West who are fed by a rural substation, are going to have wait longer to have their power restored. It could still be sometime Thursday before their hydro is back on.
* Skidmore said currently there are 13 tree trimming crews, four line crews and two emergency service crews working 16-hour rotating shifts to restore power.
A rumour that they will be taking time off for Christmas is not true, said Skidmore.
“We have a very committed line staff. I can’t tell you the job that they’re doing.”
* Skidmore said currently there are pockets in Georgetown still without power.
“Street by street is really how we’re going. Every street is different,” said Skidmore.
* “A large number are out because there is damage to their services specific to their house,” said Matthews, Halton Hills Hydro Operations Manager. If one house on a street doesn’t have power, but all the other homes do, that is likely the case and those residents need to contact HHH.
* Mayor Bonnette, in consultation with colleagues, has decided not to declare a state of emergency “since the staff has been able to address most of the community’s needs to this point.
“Our roads are open, the hospital is open and people can get around,” said Bonnette.
But Bonnette said just because a state of emergency wasn’t declared it doesn’t mean the Town can’t get additional funding from the Province if needed.
* Bonnette said Halton Hills Fire Department has responded to approximately 80 calls over the last 72 hours, but there have been no significant emergencies. Public Works staff and firefighters have been going door-to-door to high-risk seniors’ apartments to ensure their safety.
* Shelli Harrison on Facebook – Still no power there. (at parents place in Glen Williams) Christmas Eve celebration is officially at my house. Had to rearrange all my furniture to fit 21 for dinner. Ryan is bringing a generator from St. Thomas since they are sold out everywhere around here. (Parents’ power is restored at 10:30 p.m. Christmas Eve.)
* 8:35 p.m. Stephanie Patterson on Facebook - A LOT of huge bangs happening all over. Last night all of Elora shook with a huge bang and others in Guelph are hearing enormous bangs. So far unexplained. weird
Halton Region Police explanation: Frost quakes, a common occurrence after ice storms.
* 8:43 p.m. Tweeter – IT’S F***ING BEEN 86 F***ING HOURS WITHOUT HYDRO @RickBonnette1 F*** YOU MERRY F***ING CHRISTMAS YOU F***ING D*** HEAD
Mayor Bonnette- Nice language wishes. HHHydro have tried their best.
* 11:01 p.m. Halton Hills Hydro – Thank you to our customers for your continued patience and support. We will continue to have crews working throughout the night restoring power. We are signing off social media for the night but will be back in the morning.
* Sandy Woodworth on Facebook - We came home from a candlelight church service to a lit and warming up house on Wildwood. Thank-you HHH for working so hard to restore as much power as you can. Will crews be out today and any word when people on the Ninth Line north of Preston’s will be restored?
Christmas Day, Dec 25
* 7 a.m. Halton Hills Hydro on Facebook: Halton Hills Hydro crews continue to work on a rotating shift basis and will continue to do so until all customers have power. We are seeing moderate progress with hundreds of additional customers reconnected yesterday. We still have an approximately 2,500 customers without power. In addition, there are many individual outages are due to meter base damage. …
* 7:46 a.m. Duane Coleman on Facebook – Did you forget Limehouse?!
Halton Hills Hydro: There has been extensive damage in that area but we will keep working until ALL are restored.
* 2 p.m. The IFP reports: Ice storm has dealt another blow, with the organizers of Light Up The Hills decided to shut down the annual Christmas light display in Dominion Gardens this year. The display was scheduled to light up the park until Jan. 3
“It is with sadness and disappointment that Light Up The Hills has decided to shut down our ‘Dominion Gardens Display’ for 2013. We are attempting to keep our Tree of Hope lit Christmas Eve and Christmas Day,” said Gerry Kentner, chair of Light Up The Hills “Now this ‘Storm of 2013’ has caused extensive damage to our wiring runs. Trees have fallen and broken extension cords and light strings are broken creating a potential hazard to park users.”
* Halton Hills Hydro CEO Art Skidmore in his daily briefing said, “Halton Hills Hydro crews continue to work on a rotating shift basis and will continue to do so until all customers have power. We are seeing moderate progress with hundreds of additional customers reconnected yesterday – approximately 2,500 customers without power. In addition, there are many individual outages are due to meter base damage. Crews are currently dispatched throughout territory, including Silvercreek, Ashgrove, Balinafad, Norval, Glen Williams, Georgetown and Acton. Unfortunately, the weather not helping as ice is not melting off tree limbs and power lines.
Crews from Westario Power, Welland Hydro, London Hydro and Westmore Poleline and Electric Inc. will be working with Halton Hills until power is restored. The two additional crews from London Hydro arrived on Christmas morning.
* Kelly Martin posts on Facebook: “They (hydro crews) were in Limehouse yesterday. I went for a drive and there were lines down on Sixth Line North of Hwy 7…but not many; unfortunately Sixth line just south of 7 had quite a few lines down and Sixth Line south of 17 sideroad was really bad. I don’t know what Fifth line was like. If it was anywhere close to the damage on Sixth I think it will be a while yet.”
* Steve Turner tweets: “HHHydro thanks for all the hard work, even though we still are with no power. We are at home with our loved ones as the crews are not.”
* Mayor Rick Bonnette tweets: a few people also dropped into the Acton Fire Hall warming centre to enjoy some hot chocolate. For those who are alone or without power there will be a free Christmas turkey lunch at the Acton Town Hall.
* 1:14 p.m. Jenn Budgen on Facebook: Glen Crescent Dr. in Glen Williams. – top half of street has power, but many houses at bottom still do not. Any updates would be appreciated. Also for Tweedle St. please
Halton Hills Hydro We will have a crew in that area tonight once they come off their mandatory 8 hour sleep period.
* 6:30 p.m. Nicole McClelland on Facebook: We live on Eighth line south of 32 Sideroad. Most properties have power back but ours does not. Is this an issue from the power line from the house to the street? If so is this an issue hydro resolves?
Halton Hills Hydro: If there is damage along the line running from your house to the street and/or including the stack and meter base it would be the responsibility of the customer.
* Mary-Ann Roach on Facebook: You guys are amazing! Thanks so much for continuing to work through Christmas day to help others have a Christmas!
* 6:45 p.m. Halton Hills Fire Department was kept busy with two major incidents occurring simultaneously at 6:45 p.m. on Christmas Day. Occupants of a single family home on Church St. West in Acton called 911 after being alerted to a bedroom fire by a smoke alarm. The cause of the fire is related to a candle left in the bedroom with damage to the home and contents estimated at $150,000.
In the second incident, fire crews responded to the Bennett Galleria on Halton Hills Dr. after carbon monoxide (CO)P readings were found higher than acceptable and immediately began ventilation procedures for every floor and every individual apartment. Occupants were gathered in the ground floor common area.
* 7:48 p.m. Kelly Martin on Facebook: Can you please tell me if your crews will be working on the Sixth Line North of Hwy 7 anytime soon? The subdivision south (just less than 1/2 km away) had power two days ago as did our neighbours behind us on 5th Line. We heard today that townline less than 1/2 km north of us was restored today. We feel like you are avoiding us.
Christine Hunt Coleman on Facebook: 6th line?????? Between 20th and 17th side road. Any estimate of time???? 100 hours now without power! I appreciate the hard work and all but it would be nice to hear an estimated time. Maybe a light at the end of this cold, dark tunnel?
Halton Hills Hydro: We are expecting additional crews tomorrow which will help us clear the lines on 6th line.
* 8 p.m. Environment Canada issues a Special Weather Statement for Halton Hills on Christmas Day: “Very cold temperatures moderating but brisk winds later today and Boxing Day could bring down more ice-laden tree branches and power lines.
Temperatures had bottomed out and are on the rebound with skies clouding over and light snow fallingWith moderating temperatures, light winds this morning will increase to southeast 20 km/h this afternoon. On Boxing Day winds of 20 to 25 km/h from southwest are forecast. This could result in more ice laden tree branches and power lines to break.”
* Halton Hills Hydro tweets: Thank you to our customers for your positive comments and support which keeps our staff and crews motivated to keep going until all power has been restored. We will continue to have two crews working throughout the night restoring power. We are signing off social media for the night but will be back in the morning.
* Connie Karlsson on Facebook – Snuggled in bed, after a warm shower, in a warm house with a light on never felt so good. Thank you to all the folks that worked tirelessly through dangerous situations over a cherished holiday time! You are my heroes!!
* Mayor Bonnette tweets “No matter what, this will be one Christmas we will never forget. Hope #icestorm2013 never repeats. #HaltonHills citizens have been troopers.”
Boxing Day, Dec 26
* 8 a.m. Mayor Bonnette tweets: There is a buzz in HaltonHills today. The sound of chain saws cutting more broken limbs, branches. We are getting there.
* Halton Police tweets: “Until we get the “all clear” from hydro take this chance to restock emergency supplies
If you reported “popping and exploding” sounds over the last few days you weren’t hearing things check out “frostquake”
Road conditions are no any better today. Keep the insanity for your shopping frenzies. Pay attention on the roads several collisions yesterday
* Halton Hills Hydro tweets: Additional crews are here!! We have 10 line crews and over 20 tree trimming crews to assist with the final push.
* Mayor Bonnette tweets: What an adrenaline rush to see those trucks convoy in.
* 9 a.m. Skidmore daily briefing: Halton Hills Hydro and contractor crews worked throughout Christmas day and evening on a rotating basis to continue the restoration effort for customers. As of today, Boxing Day, about 1,700 customers remain without power. But there are many individual outages that are due to damage on customer premises. “Today, the hydro crew complement has been strengthened with the addition of two crews from London Hydro, four crews from Dundas Powerlines, two crews from Bluewater Power in Sarnia, two crews from Waterloo North Hydro and one crew from Oakville Hydro. They join crews from Westmore Powerlines, Westario Power, Welland Hydro, Davey Tree, Quality Tree, and Asplundh. They have all agreed to support us until everyone is reconnected. Today, Boxing Day, crews will continue to work in all affected areas in: Glen Williams/Limehouse, Norval/Ninth Line, Ashgrove, Georgetown, Acton, Silvercreek, Ballinafad
* 2 p.m. The IFP reports: “The storm came as advertised and then some,” said Mayor Rick Bonnette. “While we still have a lot of work to do, there’s more than just the buzz of chain saws in the air, there’s also a strong sense of community and appreciation for the efforts of staff who have worked through the holiday to address the ice storm damage. I’m very impressed by the way everyone is pulling their weight.”
* The two warming centres in Acton and Georgetown remain open and available for those in need. Residents are also using the evacuation centre at the Gellert Community Centre on Eighth Line (Main St.). These three buildings will remain open as long as the need persists, said the mayor.
* The Town remains in regular contact with the Province’s Emergency Management Office.
* The Town’s Public Works department are on the street, clearing roads of snow that fell overnight as well as tree clean-ups.
* Skidmore said with the additional crews the big push is on, and hopefully reconnection of almost all residents will be completed by Friday night or Saturday morning.
* All Town facilities- arena and recreation centres- will be open Friday and all regular recreation programs will operate as scheduled.
“We fully appreciate the hardship and stress this situation has caused. I thank everyone for their continued patience. Everyone is doing their best and things are gradually improving,” said Bonnette.
* 3:30 p.m. In a Special Weather Statement issued for Halton Hills-Milton, Environment Canada warned of moderate winds through early evening for regions most affected by the ice storm. These wind speeds would normally have little or no impact, however with trees remaining heavily ice covered, this may be enough to bring down additional branches, resulting in further sporadic power outages, the Statement said.
* Community volunteers are helping to prepare and deliver food to the hungry Hydro crews trying to re-connect the town`s power grid. Volunteers like Councillor Jon Hurst (second from left) brings food into the Halton Hills Hydro office for the many employees working there, before heading out to deliver food to Hydro crews where they are working. The Hydro crews only take a break long enough to eat in their trucks and then continue their work. Tonight Councillors Jane Fogal, Ann Lawlor and Moya Johnson made and brought chili to the workers.
* Councillor Moya Johnson tweets: re Thank you to the volunteers. and Dave and Gerry Kentner who also brought Chili. Gerry’s was the best!
Jane Fogal tweets: Happy to do something useful. +FUN it was a great crew.
* Councillor Moya Johnson tweets: Thank you #Sobeys #Acton for donating supplies to our hydro crews. #HaltonHills” GR8t community support from local business
* 8 p.m. Mayor Rick Bonnette tweets: Hwy 25 just south of Acton got power. A happy resident just emailed me. Also Ottawa and Welland (hydro crews) working 25 and 15 Sideroads.
* Vicky Inglis on Facebook: My mother in law on Normandy still doesn’t have power 86 years old!
(Power was restored on Normandy on Dec. 26 just after midnight)
* Karen McBride Thank you thank you thank you. I happened to wake up (live on Carole) and saw your truck driving away when the power was restored. You came, you fixed and conquered and then were driving off to the next ones who need your help. You were our heroes this week!
* Halton Hills Hydro tweets: Additional crews are here!! We have 10 line crews and over 20 tree trimming crews to assist with the final push.
* Halton Hills Hydro on Facebook: We have a number of tree trimming crews working in Limehouse today. We can’t energize a feeder until all the trees from it are clear and it is slow going. Given the amount of trees down in that area I can’t give anything specific other than to assure you that we do have crews working there now.
* Sharon Ayers Still no power on 25 between 22 and up to 25 side road. We where told that workers would be doing our area and we are still with out power. Would like to know what is going on here please????????
Halton Hills Hydro we’ve had tree trimming crews working today on 25 but our line crews can’t energize until the tree trimming work is done. It’s very slow going unfortunately.
* Lisa Shoebridge on Facebook: Any crews working in Limehouse?
Halton Hills Hydro: Yes we have had a number of tree trimming crews working in Limehouse today. I don’t have an ETA for restoration though.
* Ryan Bensen on Facebook: Any update for 10th sideroad/Hwy 25 area?
Halton Hills Hydro: We’ve had tree trimming crews working there today but I don’t have a status update.
* Brenda Speers on Facebook: Also Ninth Line north of Glen Williams. Haven’t seen a truck of any kind in our area.
* Nadia Figliola on Facebook: Inching closer to third line….hopefully these are the last two buckets of snow we have to melt to flush the toilets!!
* Eowyn Anduin on Facebook: My house is up to 10C. It was at 2C this afternoon. It will be toasty by the morning. Thank you
* Tina Norman on Facebook: Thanks for all of your hard work & time away from your families. 100 hours without power! Thank you for your efforts.
* Jeffry Rottluff on Facebook: After almost five days with out power it finally came back on at 7:15 p.m. here on Chapel Street. Please forward a thank to your hard working crew!
* Halton Hills Hydro on Facebook: Thanks to everyone for posting and sharing on this site. The past week has been tremendously frustrating. The comments on this site let us know we weren’t alone and helped us survive this ordeal. Going without power for 5-6 days, at Christmas, in the bitter cold, was gruelling. Please post when you get power – so great to hear the good news!!
* 11 p.m. RickBonnette tweets: HaltonHills Hydro reports around 800 customers without power. 2 days ago was 3500. Big gains. Still more to go. Trying our best.
* 11 p.m. Halton Hills Hydro tweets: Thank you again to our customers for your continued support and encouraging comments. We have crews continuing to work through the night. We are signing off of social media for the night, we will be back in the morning.
Friday, Dec 27
* 8 a.m. Wendy Bruchal tweets: I love Halton Hills. During the ice storm neighbours helping each other. random acts of kindness the true spirit of the holidays
* 8 am. Mayor Bonnette tweets: I am hearing now hwy 25 south from Acton to Milton is energized.
* 8:30 a.m. Halton Hills Hydro tweets: At 1 a.m. power was restored to 5 Sidefoad between Eighth line and Ninth line.
* Councillor Jane Fogal tweets: Thanks to guys working through the night.
* 12 p.m. Christian Febel tweets: don’t walk under the wires in Georgetown large chunks of ice falling
* 12 p.m. Brenda Speers on Facebook: Looking forward to seeking some trucks on Ninth north of Bishop Court.
* 1:30 p.m. Halton Police tweets: Snowmobilers beware of fallen branches/ trees, on trails or hidden under snow. Hikers beware of ice buildup on trees and thick ice underfoot
* 1:30 p.m. Halton Hills Hydro tweets: FYI: We have had a couple of feeders trip affecting nearly 4000 customers. The feeders have been restored and holding. Crews are responding and investigating the root causes.
* 2 p.m. MPP Ted Arnott tweets: Len McMillan, VP Field Ops, Hydro One told me just now that they hope to send 5 bucket trucks with “forestry” staff to Halton Hills today.
* In his daily briefing Halton Hills Hydro President and CEO Art Skidmore says hydro crews are making steady progress in their restoration efforts. Another 800 customers were reconnected on Thursday, leaving another 900 without power for a seventh day, he said. Skidmore said the current crews have now been joined by additional resources from Brantford Power, Guelph Hydro and Kitchener-Wilmot Hydro.
* The restoration effort continues in all affected areas, including Glen Williams. Limehouse, Norval/Ninth Line, Ashgrove, Silvercreek, Ballinafad, Georgetown, Acton.“We continue to work on reconnections,” said Skidmore. “Many customers who are still without power suffered damage to the equipment that connects their home to the power lines. These repairs must be completed by a licensed electrician. Customers who have had damage to their service stack and meter base can call our Customer Care Centre at 519-853-3701 for a more detailed explanation or check the following websites: www.haltonhillshydro.com or www.esasafe.com
* 2 p.m. Shelli Harrison on Facebook: For those who still don’t have power, Rod at Wicked Beauty Centre is offering free hair washes. They are located at 184 Guelph St. (across from the Superstore).
* 4 p.m. Halton Hills Hydro reminds customers with a damaged privately-owned primary pole line, that a pole-line contractor will have to be hired to clear their line and make repairs before we can energize the service.
* 4:15 p.m. A confirmed feeder lockout on the Glen Williams 11F1 has resulted in a crew dispatch. Area affected includes 22 Sideroad between Sixth and Eighth Lines, Trafalgar Rd between 27 Sideroad and 22 Sideroad. Also included is Wildwood Rd. area. Estimated restoration time is 5p.m.
* 4:20 p.m. MPP Ted Arnott tweets: When the hydro emergency is finally over, a formal review should be undertaken. What went right? What would they do differently next time?
* 5:15 p.m. Mayor Bonnette tweets: Best quote from a senior still without power. “This is nothing compared to child birth.” That is Halton Hills tough.
* 5:20 p.m. Daniela Webb on Facebook: Thank you for re-restoring our power on 22nd.
Gabrielle St George- Hey Daniela, do you happen to know if it’s on for Sixth Line south of 22nd?
Daniela Webb – Crews were working there all afternoon, but with the carnage, they will be a while. 22nd didn’t look half as bad and it still took them two full days to restore ours.
* 6:30 p.m. Halton Hills Hydro Facebook: Please be advised that ESA has extended its call centre hours this weekend for ice-storm related inquires/connection authorizations as follows: Friday, December 27 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday, December 28 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Sunday, December 29 10 a.m. to 9 p.m http://www.esasafe.com/
* 7 p.m. Halton Hills Hydro: As of 6:40 p.m. power was restored to 17 Sideroad from Hwy 25 to Townline Rd. and Townline Rd. from 20 Sideroad to 15 Sideroad. including Deer Run Cres.
* At 7:15 p.m. Confederation Street was restored between Bishop Crt. to Glen Crescent Dr.
Wanda Yeo Doyle on Facebook: Please say you are working your way up north on confederation! Soooooo close to me!
Brian Robinson: Glad to here it was restored, how about the rest of us less than a kilometre north of Bishop Court who are heading into our 7th night without power and water. You bring in Waterloo North Hydro to restore power to people who have already had power but leave us powerless. Thanks for nothing. Oh yeah saw 5 hydro trucks on Eighth Line north of Wildwood, guess what ,they have also had power for 2 days.Unbelievable
Wanda Yeo Doyle: Nothing exists past Bishop Court ….everything seems to come up the road and stop there!
Brenda Speers: I agree Wanda. Would have been nice had the workers continued north where we have not had power. It seems the Ninth Line doesn’t exist past Bishop Court.
* 8:30 p.m. Halton Hills Facebook: Thank you again to our customers for your continued support and encouraging comments. We have crews continuing to work through the night. We are signing off of social media for the night, we will be back in the morning.
Leanne Roffel-Boven I see flashing lights on sixth line. Hope that’s a good sign! Waiting patiently. Thanks for the hard work. It’s been a long week for all of us!
Janice Sexton Keep going Halton Hills! your doing it right!
Kelly Martin Thank you for working so hard. We are very pleased to have our power back on (sixth line north of 7).
Lisa Hayes-Parenti I saw quite a few go by on Sixth too! So exciting!
Deb MacKenzie Thankyou. I see you inching ever so closely to 5th line south of 22nd Sideroad . We’re cheering you on.
* 8:40 p.m. Ted Arnott, MPP tweets: Glad to be updated again just now by Len McMillan, VP Field Ops, Hydro One. Their forestry crews will be working in Halton Hills tomorrow am
* 8:45 p.m. Mayor Bonnette tweets: It is almost hand to hand combat for tree trimmers and multitude of Hydro crews to bring Hydro to rural
* 9:05 p.m. Jody Johnson tweets: Best thing I may have ever seen….a hydro truck!!!
* 9:38 p.m. Special weather statement for Halton Hills – Milton issued. The much anticipated melting from the ice storm is almost upon us. Temperatures will edge up overnight to near the freezing mark in those areas most affected by the ice storm. And it is expected to remain above freezing for roughly 36 hours or so until it cools off again Sunday night. This will be more than sufficient to melt all ice off of trees, buildings and other structures. The good news is that the milder temperatures will aid hydro workers’ restoration efforts, as well as homeowners who remain without power.
* 11 p.m. Red Cross Halton tweets: We still have a shelter at the Gellert Centre, Georgetown. Food, showers, cots, friendship. If you still have no power, we’re there for you.
Saturday, December 28
* 7:25 a.m. Halton Region Police (Halton Hills-Milton detachment) tweets: North Halton experiencing sporadic outages. Use cautions at intersections. The wind has picked up and branches falling
If you haven’t done so already restock that emergency response kit – we are not out of the woods yet
Reminder if you locate downed wires stay at least 10 metres away. Consider all downed wires and the ground around it, live.
* 8:35 a.m.Halton Hills Hydro is advising customers that further power outages are possible as rising temperatures and strong wind gusts are expected Saturday and overnight and we will respond as quickly as possible.
* 7:40 a.m. Jody Johnson THANK YOU @HHHydro, #HaltonHills, out of town forces & @RickBonnette1….power has arrived..you guys are awesome! Thx for continued effort.
So nice to finally see the tree we decorated by flashlight on the 23rd all lit up…thanks @HHHydro, #HaltonHills and @RickBonnette1!
*8 a.m. The IFP reports: In his daily briefing on Saturday, Dec. 28 to Halton Hills customers, President and CEO Art Skidmore said there are approximately 304 customers that still need power restored not including individual damaged services. It is our intention that all distribution lines will be restored by Sunday morning. Thank you for your continued patience.
* 9 a.m. Halton Hills Hydro on Facebook: Halton Hills Hydro is advising customers that further power outages are possible as rising temperatures and strong wind gusts are expected Saturday and overnight and we will respond as quickly as possible.
* 10 a.m. Isabel Grasby Owen on Facebook: Power’s out on Elgin..again..melting ice..the branches caught are dropping quick..i heard a loud bang and darkness..hydro is a gift..hope people who haven’t had it get theirs on..me and my three sweaters are friends:-)
* 11 a.m. Katie Downes on Facebook: If anyone is interested, I’ve assembled a group of volunteers to go door to door offering hot water, to fill tea kettles, hot coffee and hot chocolate for children. This will be our third day, Mcdonalds is supplying me with the materials to do this. If anyone wants to join us call me this morning we assemble at my house at noon today, 2 Cleaveholm Drive. If you know of a senior or family with young children that should be checked on you can text me, we have two apartments available to house people and two generators on call to power some houses. Cheers everyone
* 11 a.m. Mayor Bonnette tweets: Huge THANK YOU to #Acton Bethel Church for supplying both lunch and dinner to Halton Hills Hydro crews. Meals are delivered to crews in trucks
* 12 p.m. Mayor Bonnette tweets: Acton Christian Bethel church is in need of potato peelers as they are preparing meals for Halton Hills Hydro crews. Call church for info.
* 12 p.m. Peter Henn on Facebook: I was driving home from work yesterday and was passing some crewmen working on the 5th line north of Hwy7, one of the guys was getting something out of the truck as I slowed to drive by. I opened my window and said ” So, we’re 6 days into this now, how many hours have you put in?”, “I’m sure too tired to even do the math, “ he said ” What’s 6 times 16?, that’s how many hours I’ve put in”. 96 HOURS!! I looked him in the eye and said ” thank you”.
* 1.40 p.m. Brenda Speers on Facebook: Yay. Power back on, Ninth Line from Bishop Court to Clayhill
* 1:45 p.m. Joanna Adema on Facebook: Any idea when the power will be restored on 5th line between 22nd sideroad and 17th?
Halton Hills Hydro: We have blanketed our entire rural area with crews. We are expecting power to be fed to all streets by tomorrow morning.
Daniela Webb: Driving by today, I saw construction signs and heard a lot of chainsaws in that area.
* 2:40 p.m. Mayor Bonnette: Those have power and it goes off. Not to panic. It is ice falling on the lines. Power will be easier to restore than it was on Sunday.
* 3 p.m. Lacey Cameron on Facebook: The issue ( =damaged service to house) was fixed. My landlord had the trees removed. All they have to do is turn the fuse on…
Halton Hills Hydro: Today we have some crews doing nothing but restoring power to individual services. We have several hundred of these services to get to. Please call 1-855-226-4173 to have your service restored.
* 4:30 p.m. Jody Johnson tweets: Lots of activity in the kitchen at Bethel church Acton getting dinner ready for hydro crews!
* 5 p.m. Dandridge Cres resident Joanne Schmidt to Mayor, Skidmore and The IFP: Do you know how many individual customers are without power because of downed lines to their homes? Do they know that they need to have their house inspected before they will be placed on a list for service? I only found this out today and only because I phone Hydro . We advised the 3 other homes on our street that they now need to have an electrician come out and have any work inspected by ESA to get on a list to have their homes reconnected. None of them knew this. How many days or weeks would they be sitting there in the dark before this information would get to them? ….
* 8:27 p.m. Skidmore replies: As you know the storm took a significant toll on the electrical distribution system of Halton Hills Hydro. Our community has almost 900km of distribution lines and at the height of the storm every customer in Halton Hills was without power. As you can imagine the utility was put in Emergency mode. Our focus from the beginning of the event was to restore the distribution system as quickly and as safely as possible. It was a team effort between our crews of HHH, the Town staff and the significant additional resources that bolstered our restoration team from HHH line staff of 12 to almost 100. Our website information was updated yesterday to discuss the responsibility of the customer. Regrettably there are gaps and this was one of them. We should have provided the information on our website sooner. We have five service crews on the road connecting customers with ESA inspection forms. In our post mortem discussions of this storm and our response we will certainly address the issues you have raised.
* 5:30 p.m. Mayor Rick Bonnette tweets: We are down to fine strokes to restoring power to HaltonHills. It’s been an amazing day and we are getting there. Lots of one offs to be hooked
* 6:01 p.m. Mayor Rick Bonnette tweets: Kudos to HHHydro President Art Skidmore + staff for a dedicated week to restore power. Art has been 7am 2 midnight all week.
* 6:13 p.m. Acton BIA tweets: Art Skidmore the President of Halton Hills Hydro has been amazing thru this crisis! Thanks Art and your dedicated staff
* 7:29 p.m. Councillor Moya Johnson tweets: ALL DONE! Everyone back up and running? Amazing feeling! It’s been a long week. Well done all!
* 11:25 p.m. MPP Ted Arnott tweets: Thank you Mayor Rick Bonnette for all the updates via Twitter, and for your and Council’s outstanding leadership throughout the past week.
*11:28 p.m. MPP Ted Arnott tweets: Special thanks also to Halton Hill Hydro staff, superbly led by Art Skidmore, and all the volunteers. Everyone of you made a huge difference
* 11:47 p.m. Joanne Schmidt: Thank-you both (Skidmore and Bonnette) for your attention and detailed response to my concern. I am indeed very grateful to learn that our house will have power restored. I hope that others in our situation will learn of their responsibilities quickly so that they too can receive assistance.
* 12:03 a.m. Mayor Bonnette: Joanne it was trying times for many including you. It was a storm of many decades. You were a trooper. There are lessoned learned. Very happy you are powered.
Sunday, Dec. 29
* 5:20 a.m. Environment Canada predicted mild temperatures but 40 per cent chance of flurries this evening and after midnight. Winds southwest 20 km/hr becoming northwest 30 km/hr, gusting to 50 km/hr this evening.
* 8 a.m. Halton Hills Hydro social media rep signs on for the day, informing customers of power restorations done overnight.
* 8:43 a.m. Mayor Rick Bonnette tweets: Good morning Halton Hills What a difference a week makes. Last week no one had power. You were patient, supportive to each other. Good job.
*8:45 p.m. Art Skidmore Halton Hills Hydro tweets and on Facebook, website: Halton Hills Hydro outage update for December 29. Halton Hills Hydro is pleased to report that all distribution lines have been fully restored. If you are still without power please contact our office at 519-853-3701. We continue to work on reconnections. Many customers who are without power suffered damage to the equipment that connects their home to the power lines. These repairs must be completed by a licensed electrician. Customers who have had damage to their service stack and meter base can call our Customer Care Centre at 519-853-3701 for a more detailed explanation or check the following websites: www.haltonhillshydro.com or www.esasafe.com. Our Customer Care department will open today Sunday December 29 @ 8:30 am
* 8:45 a.m. Mayor Rick Bonnette tweets: Good bye #icestorm2013 may you never return. Next time I hear the word ice it better be the sound in my glass.