Windstorm blamed for 3 deaths as crews work to restore power to thousands

A fierce windstorm that wreaked havoc across Ontario on Friday is being blamed for three deaths.

Two men who were hit by a large tree that fell during the storm in Milton, Ont. have both died, according to Miller Tree, a tree maintenance company that employed the men.

"Words cannot express the devastating impact the loss of 2 of our teammates has had on their families and our team," Miller Tree said in a tweet on Saturday. "The loss of our friends has been truly horrific."

The men were clearing trees from power lines when a tree fell on them on Friday afternoon, the company said. One man, 28, died at the scene, while other, 18, was severely injured and died a day later, according to police.

The storm is also being blamed for the death of a man in his 50s in Hamilton, Ont. who was killed after he came "in contact with live wires." Police said the man tried to clear fallen wires from a roadway. 

Meanwhile, hydro crews are still working to restore power to thousands in southwestern, central and eastern Ontario. Many of the outages are scattered and local in nature.

Current restoration stage 'takes the longest'

As of 10 p.m. on Sunday, about 2,400 customers in Toronto were still without power.

"We're in the stage of restoration that takes the longest," Toronto Hydro said in a news release.

"There are many individual or small pockets of customer outages. We continue to respond to downed trees and power lines and are making repairs on a case-by-case basis.

The utility expects to have the majority of its customers restored on Sunday, but said some outages may linger into Monday.

About 68,000 customers were without power at the peak of the storm, which swept through the city late Friday afternoon.

Outage means no heat, no hot showers

According to Hydro One, the provincial utility, tens of thousands of customers are still without power in parts of Ontario.

Irfan Saleemi, a Burlington, Ont. resident who has been without power for nearly two days, told CBC Toronto that living without electricity has been trying, while not being able to obtain information from Burlington Hydro has been frustrating.

The outage has meant no heat, no hot showers, having to buy takeout food and having to throw food out. Saleemi has three children, aged 23, 14 and 9, at home.

There are trees down all over Burlington, he added. 

"To be very honest, we are fine. When we compare to the rest of the world what other people go through in their lives, for us, this is not a big deal. We can manage it," he said.

"The problem what I have is that there are people, elderly folks, who are out there all by themselves." 

Saleemi, the CEO of a Digital Attractions Inc., a photo imaging company in Niagara Falls, Ont. said he and his family, for example, are keeping a watch on an elderly neighbour who has had surgery. 

He said Burlington Hydro has failed to create a "communications channel" to let customers know when power will be restored and failed to provide any answers.

"That's not good," Saleemi said. "You have to give people a timeframe, let the people know either tomorrow, or day after tomorrow, or a week later you will going to have the power back, so people can start making arrangements. You cannot leave customers in the dark."

Saleemi admitted he and his family will just have to wait it out. "We are at their mercy," he said.

Hydro One asking for help from other utilities

Nancy Clark, communications officer for Hydro One, said the windstorm affected about 500,000 customers in all. That means more than 400,000 customers have had their power restored.

Hydro One is requesting help from other utilities, including in Orangeville, Peterborough and Kingston, in the push to restore power. 

Clark said some customers will continue to be without power overnight.

'Scary' winds captured on video

High winds in Toronto uprooted many large trees, which in turn brought down power lines and poles, or landed on cars, garages and houses.

Wind gusts also blew shingles off roofs, sent debris flying around, spun cranes around and damaged traffic lights. Condos reportedly swayed as they were hit by winds of near hurricane strength.

Large boxes slid across a runway at Toronto's Pearson International Airport, prompting ground crew to run out of the way.

Toronto residents have begun tweeting videos of what they saw and experienced as winds of more than 100 km/hr whipped through neighbourhoods.