One person was killed and two others were injured after a tree fell on a camping trailer at Pinehurst Lake during a severe storm that ripped through Brantford and Brant County on Saturday.
A Brant OPP investigation is continuing but the death was one of 10 deaths in being attributed to the sudden storm that delivered high winds and torrential rains for a short period of time. Parts of Ontario and Quebec were hit by the storm.
Locally, trees were uprooted, branches downed and many were left without power for a several hours.
“It was pretty incredible,” Carol Browning of Dalhousie Street near Park Avenue, said after the storm had moved on from tearing down a tree by her home. “I could see the clouds coming in, then we got some rain and hail and it got really bad.
“We could see the tree swaying back and forth and I just knew it was going to go.”
Her son Dominic, 6, was playing out front and thought a tornado was coming. He headed into the house and down to the base for cover.
The trunk of the tree in front of their home broke off with parts of the it landing on a neighbour’s truck while the rest of it blocked a lane of the one-way street. Brantford police were on the scene with cruiser lights flashing as a warning to oncoming motorists.
“We’ve been living here for six years and I’ve seen a lot of storms but nothing like this,” Browning said. “I never thought I’d see this tree come down.
“There was loud crack and then, a few minutes later, it was all sunny and hot again.”
The storm also ravaged trees in nearby Alexandra Park. Some trees were uprooted while others lost branches in the park bordered by Park Avenue, Colborne Street, Peel Street and Dalhousie Street.
A block away on Darling Street near Drummond Street, a large tree knocked down hydro wires blocking the entire street. Brantford fire and police officers were on the scene and tape was set up to keep people away from the branches entangled with power wires.
There were also reports of downed branches and uprooted trees in other areas of the city including West Brant. While numerous power outages were reported, GrandBridge Energy said crews worked had reconnected the majority of Brantford customers and were left with just small pockets of outages.
Residents were being reminded to stay back at least 10 meters – the length of a school bus – from any downed wires.
“Was that a storm or what,” Mayor Kevin Davis said in a video of Alexandra Park he posted to social media.
Davis said forestry crews and work crews from the city were out cleaning up branches from city streets. He urged residents to be patient as work continued.
City spokesperson Maria Visocchi said the event showed how vital city public works crews are as National Public Works Week ended.
“A huge shout and sincere thanks to our hardworking operational services and forestry crews who worked into the night Saturday and Sunday to remove wind storm debris from roadsides and sidewalks,” said Visocchi in a news release.
She said Brantford Police and firefighters were all involved in responding to emergency calls, along with GrandBridge Energy staff as they were notified of downed power lines and road blockages.
With trees or branches still on many roads and sidewalks, citizens are asked to help, if possible, by moving branches to boulevards. Those who want to transport debris can do free drop-offs for leaf and yard waste at the Mohawk Street landfill from 8 am to 5 pm all week, including Saturday.
Clean-up inquiries can be made by calling city hall at 519-759-4150 ext. 7.
“We ask for the public’s continued patience as crews continue working to address a large backlog of requests,” said the release.
Work crews in Brant County were also busy over the weekend clearing roads and asked residents to be patient.
The severe weather also resulted in the closure of Grand River Conservation Authority trails and natural areas due to tree damage, affecting the Cambridge-Brantford Rail Trail, SC Johnson Trail (Paris to Brantford), Brantford-Hamilton Rail Trail and Elora-Cataract Trailway.
Some conservation areas, including Pinehurst, were closed and while most have since reopened, some have not. Updates are available at www.grandriver.ca/conservationareastatus
and www.grandriver.ca/servicedisruptions
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