Toronto ice storm: 290 in dark as power slowly returns
CBC News | Posted: December 30, 2013 12:07 PM | Last Updated: December 31, 2013
'We were all tired, but we never stopped,' Toronto Hydro CEO says in commending work crews
About 290 customers are still without electricity in Toronto, more than a week after an ice storm hit Eastern Canada and knocked out electricity to about 300,000.
Toronto Mayor Rob Ford and Toronto Hydro on Monday officials gave what would be their final daily update on the power outages that came in the wake of a powerful ice storm two weekends ago.
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“I want to thank the residents of the city for their patience during this terrible storm,” Ford said. “We have never had a storm like this in Toronto’s history and hopefully we will won’t have one like this again.
“It’s truly remarkable, what people have done in this city to help each other … sacrificing and giving up family time over the holidays."
Four warming centres remained open Monday as crews continued to work.
An emotional Anthony Haines, CEO of Toronto Hydro, thanked all the crews who worked round the clock.
"We were all tired, but we never stopped," Haines said.
He also urged anyone still without power to call Toronto Hydro.
Toronto resident Tish Carnat was still without power Monday morning. The family has been without power for nine days, and are grateful they had a gas stove on which to boil water.
"We've been boiling water and filling the sink," she said. "I'm like a pioneer in 2014 in downtown Toronto."
Increased emergencies
Earlier Monday, emergency response officials said the influx of calls they began receiving after the storm has not stopped.
More than a week after the ice storm, emergency calls remain at 10 times the normal volume.
EMS emergency medical dispatcher Rocky Ruffalo said the challenge is prioritizing those calls.
“One of the toughest calls to field was people that were on home oxygen and with the power being out, they knew that they only had a specific period of time left for their home oxygen,” Ruffalo said.
Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne said that after all power is restored and it’s business as usual in the city, a debriefing on what was and wasn’t done efficiently will be required.
In Sunday's briefing, Ford said restoring power and repairing damage from the ice storm costs the city approximately $1 million per day.
“So it’s going to cost Toronto Hydro $10 million on the high side,” he said, “The very low side is about $8 million.”