Crews still dealing with scattered outages in Toronto after strong winds blow through city
Toronto Hydro says roughly 27,000 customers in the dark at peak of thunderstorm
Crews are still responding to a few scattered power outages across Toronto after a severe thunderstorm swept through the city on Tuesday.
Fewer than 50 Toronto Hydro customers were still without power as of 9:15 p.m., down from roughly 27,000 customers at the peak of the storm, according to Kate Womby Browne, spokesperson for Toronto Hydro.
"At this time, all large outages have been restored," Womby Browne said in an email on Wednesday night.
"Crews will continue working overnight and until power is restored to every last customer," she added. "We also want to thank our customers for their patience and understanding as our crews continue their restoration efforts."
Womby Browne said customers without power can find estimated restoration times on the utility's outage map.
Crews are still responding to a number of reports of downed power lines, she said. If residents come across downed power lines, they are urged to stay back at least 10 metres — about the length of a school bus — and report it to Toronto Hydro.
Strong winds from the storm brought down trees and power lines. Environment Canada had warned residents of high winds and nickel-sized hail before the storm hit Toronto.
The federal weather agency had issued a severe thunderstorm warning, a severe thunderstorm watch and a special weather statement for Toronto on Tuesday afternoon but all three weather alerts were lifted on Tuesday night.
On Tuesday, thousands of people lost power across Toronto. Before 7 p.m., the weather prompted Scotiabank Arena to ask fans to leave the tailgate party at Maple Leaf Square, ahead of Game 5 between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators.
The tailgate was reopened minutes later and fans returned to the square.
Toronto police were called to a few incidents that might have been related to the weather on Tuesday.
A large tree branch fell in the area of St. Clair Avenue W. and Avenue Road, striking a woman and child. Police were called to the scene at about 3:20 p.m. The woman was critically injured, while the 10-year-old girl with her at the time was not hurt.
Police could not confirm if weather was a factor and said they do not know why the branch fell.
Later, shortly before 4 p.m., police were called to the area of Eglinton Avenue W. and Oakwood Avenue for a report of pedestrians being struck by drywall.
A man in his 40s, a woman in her 50s and a woman in her 60s suffered non-life-threatening injuries. The women were taken to hospital and the incident is being investigated as an industrial accident.
Police also could not say if weather was a factor.
Shortly after 6 p.m., police were told that construction materials were blowing off buildings due to strong winds at Dovercourt Road and Bloor Street W. Residents were urged to use caution when walking or driving in the area.
The city had been under a severe thunderstorm warning, a severe thunderstorm watch and a special weather statement earlier in the day but all three weather alerts were lifted before 9 p.m.