Latest news with #icestorm
CBC
21-07-2025
- Climate
- CBC
Ontario announces $10M in funds to improve emergency response
Ontario announced $10 million in funds to improve its emergency response capabilities, just months after the province was hit with a major ice storm and wildfires. The money will ensure communities are better prepared to respond to local emergencies and have resources, such as debris removal tools, machinery, flood barriers, food services, and drones, that can be deployed at a moment's notice, said the province's minister of emergency preparedness and response. "The government is protecting Ontario from all threats, from wildland fires to flooding, ice storms or whatever else may come our way," said Jill Dunlop at a news conference Monday. The announcement comes after hundreds of thousands of Ontarians were left without power after a powerful ice storm swept across the province in late March. Emergency crews worked for over a week removing downed trees and debris and restoring power in the area. Hydro One said at the time that the storm was the most severe weather event the utility had faced since the ice storm of 1998. Environment Canada warned last year that Canadians should be prepared for more extreme weather events triggered by human-caused climate change. Thousands of Ontarians still without power after ice storm 4 months ago Hundreds of thousands of Ontarians are still without power after an ice storm swept across the province over the weekend. CBC's Clara Pasieka speaks to residents in Peterborough, Ont., about how they are coping. Last week, Toronto was ranked among the worst in the world for air quality due to smoke from forest fires over northern Ontario and the Prairies. The area burned by wildfires so far this season is the second-largest on record in Canada, government data shows. Wildfires have consumed 3.7 million hectares this year, which is six times the area of Prince Edward Island. Ontario organizations providing support Dunlop also announced Monday that the province is working with 13 Ontario partners to support local emergency responses. These include First Nations partners and non-governmental organizations, like Feed Ontario, GlobalMedic, Habitat for Humanity, and Salvation Army. The 13 partners will join the Ontario Corps, a province-wide group of skilled professionals and trained volunteers that the province can deploy to help communities respond to natural disasters and other emergencies. The province said that Ontario Corps was deployed during the ice storm, providing tree-clearing services, meals and food hampers, supporting evacuation reception centres, and conducting wellness checks. "Without the help of our Ontario Corps partners, the restoration efforts from the ice storm would have been far less effective," said Dunlop. Ontario Corps has also been providing support to the communities affected by the wildfires this year, she said. One of the organizations joining the Ontario Corps is Team Rubicon Canada, a humanitarian organization that assists communities before, during, and after disasters and crises. The organization's chief operating officer said he's happy to join the initiative and to work to build a more "prepared, practiced, and resilient" Ontario.
CTV News
20-06-2025
- Climate
- CTV News
County finally nearing completion of record ice storm debris collection months later
Months after Mother Nature unleashed a spring ice storm that coated the region in a thick layer of ice, downed power lines, snapped branches from trees and caused widespread property damage, the County of Simcoe says its finally nearing the end of record brush collection. The ice storm began with freezing rain on March 30 and quickly turned into a region blanketed in an icy glaze, the weight of which turned into weeks and months of cleanup efforts, with the County turning out some incredible numbers - including over 20,000 tonnes of brush material collected, compared to 4,400 in an average year. "Over the past three months, the intake is more than four times the typical annual amount," the County reports. More than two dozen different crews were called on to support the cleanup efforts right across the County and residents were given the thumbs up to drop brush at waste facilities free of charge. The County says it received over 1,200 service calls from all corners as residents requested brush pick-ups. Residents are able to drop off storm-related debris at waste facilities for free until the end of June, regular fees will apply starting in July.
Yahoo
19-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ontario to provide ice storm recovery funding for businesses, municipalities
The Ontario government says it's introducing two financial assistance programs to help municipalities and businesses recover from a severe March ice storm. The storm in late March left nearly 400,000 homes and businesses with power outages and damaged property as freezing rain covered parts of Ontario in layers of ice. The province says it will launch two one-time financial assistance programs to help with ice storm recovery, including one to help municipalities pay for emergency response and cleanup costs such as clearing fallen trees. The other program will provide up to $5 million for small businesses, small farms and not-for-profit organizations to pay for storm-related cleanup and essential repairs not covered by private insurance. The province did not specify how much money it has set aside for the programs, but said final amounts for business assistance will be based on the number of applicants and eligible costs, while municipal funding will be based on the eligible emergency response and recovery costs. The province says eligible businesses and municipalities will have until Oct. 31 to apply for the funding. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 19, 2025. The Canadian Press
Yahoo
18-06-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Little Traverse Conservancy continues trail clean-up, more volunteers welcome
PETOSKEY — The Little Traverse Conservancy is making good progress in clearing trails affected by the late-March ice storm, but some areas still need to be cleaned up. According to the conservancy, the group has been prioritizing the most heavily used trails for clean-up first. The team is making its way down the list, while also managing time-sensitive and previously contracted projects at the same time. More: U.S. Small Business Administration grants disaster declaration request for ice storm damages 'Nearly 100 of our nature preserves and reserves include at least a short trail, with more than 125 miles of trails in total,' said executive director Kieran Fleming in a June 12 statement. 'We appreciate your patience as we continue working to reopen them all as quickly and safely as possible.' The conservancy thanked the volunteers, local businesses, Petoskey-Harbor Springs Area Community Foundation and Charlevoix County Community Foundation for their help as clean-up efforts continue. More: Cleanup efforts continue for Little Traverse Conservancy following March ice storm The conservancy also welcomes any volunteers who are interested in joining a work day or who can help in other ways. If you are interested, contact volunteer coordinator Cacia Lesh at cacia@ or (231) 347-0991. For more information, visit This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Little Traverse Conservancy continues ice storm trail clean-up, asks for volunteers
CTV News
29-05-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Pricey ice storm cleanup ongoing in Simcoe County
Tree companies continue to work at a feverish pace to get the cleanup job down after the March ice storm that crippled the county. 'We're just driving around removing trees that are storm damaged... We've been very busy. It's been a busy two months,' said George Paddock with Kodiak Tree Services. While crews continue to take down trees in Barrie, now at 4,500 and counting, homeowners are encouraged to do one last check of their yards for brush and other storm-related debris before the city carries out it's final pickup. 'Drag everything out to the curb and we hope to have the contractors do a one or two week run throughout the city and do their final clean ups,' said Dave Friary with the City of Barrie. And the cleanup hasn't been cheap. Now estimated at over $12 million in Barrie alone. The final pricetag is expected next week. Many city trails still need to be cleaned and people are asked to stay off the ones that are closed until further notice. 'If you have a hanger up in the tree and it falls on somebody - that's the last thing we want,' said Friary. In Orillia, the cost for storm cleanup is pegged at about $7.5 million, with the majority of the job now completed. After help from government, the mayor said the city would be looking at a bill of about $1 million. 'There are some places where arborists can't get to because of the volume but most of the trees have already been cut down and put to the curb,' explained Mayor Don McIsaac. The city's last debris collection for property owners should be done by the end of the week. Residents of Orillia and Barrie still have the opportunity to drop-off brush at the landfill free of charge until Saturday.
