A severe storm ripped through Brantford early Saturday afternoon knocking down branches, uprooting trees and leaving many residents without power.
“It was pretty incredible,” Carol Browning, of Dalhousie Street near Park Avenue, said after the storm had moved on. “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 some of the tree landing on a neighbour’s truck while the rest of it blocked one 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.
Wires could be seen entangled with tree branches creating a safety hazard.
There were also reports of downed branches and uprooted trees in other areas of the city including West Brant.
There were also numerous power outages and Grandbridge Energy said, on social media, that several crews had been dispatched to restore power to residents.
“We are aware of multiple weather-related power outages in #Brantford,” Grandbridge said on Twitter. “Our crews have been dispatched to investigate.
“Thanks for your patience.”
Residents were being reminded to stay back at least 10 meters – the length of a school bus – from any downed wires.
In the Mayfair area of Brantford, the power went out at about 12:21 pm and was restored about 40 minutes later.
By 3 pm, power had been restored to the majority of customers in Brantford. However, crews were still busy working in small pockets of outages throughout the city.