Toronto has been the laughing stock of not only the country, but of the world in general, thanks to the buffoon that thinks he is the best mayor Toronto has ever had. And we thought Mel Lastman who called in the army after a snow storm and later had no idea what WHO was during our SARS epidemic, but I digress. This storm has shown some maturation on handling problems despite some confusion as to who was in charge.
The weekend before Christmas there was a winter storm front heading towards Toronto and we were warned that was closely followed by a second huge system from the US. Unfortunately, the local temperature had warmed up and we were told to expect the rain to freeze upon contact because the ground was colder than the rain. I decided to do my shopping early in the day and then wait out the nasty weather in the comfort of my home. This was a good time to get started on a quilt for Dov's birthday.
I had also prepared a Christmas gift for Christine and texted Josh about a good delivery time. Josh and his phone took a break from each other so I got no reply until later in the evening. " Tonight is fine" beeped in hours after the message was sent. By now, I had settled in for the evening. The rain was coming down in sheets. The road glistened in the dark. I went through my options and decided to make my delivery tonight, rather than wait for another opportunity.
I bundled up, put the gift in a plastic bag as protection and headed out to the car. It was very wet. The precipitation had transformed from rain to sleet, but there was no need yet to scrape my windows. As I drove towards Josh's home, the condition of the roads started to deteriorate and I was sure that I was now dealing with black ice, but there was no point in turning back at this point.
There was no street parking left, so I pulled into the school lot. One car was already there, but it was totally encased in ice. It looked like Mr. Freeze had run his icy fingers all over the car. Getting out of the car, I realized that the entire lot was a sheet of ice. I skated rather than walked to the house. Everything was sparking with a thin layer of crystal. That was the first indication of what was to follow. Inside the house, the power was flickering on and off, clue number two. As I left the house the sky was illuminated by a series of lightning strikes, unlike any I had seen before. The light was green!
Once at home, I congratulated myself on having done my errands before the storm got worse and I returned to the quilt and then snuggled into bed with a good book. My phone beeped at eleven. It was Gila. Was my power out? Hers was and it was cold. I invited her to wait out the blackout at my house, but I got no response. Later I noticed that the message had not been delivered, but by now it was very late and I called it a day.
I woke up to the news. The storm had hit hard during the night. There was a lull now, but the second wave was due later in the day. There were reports of power outages due to heavy ice on the wires and trees crashing down. Obviously, I still had power. The radio was working, but I was worried about the condition of the Manitoba maples in my yard. I ran to the window over the backyard. The limbs were all on the trees, not on the ground, but the world had been transformed into a winter wonderland. Everything had become crystalline tree branches and trunks, railings, roofs, the patio chairs and the barbeque. It was a beautiful sight.
Gila called before nine. She still had no power and asked about my status. My invitation was offered again, but that would necessitate climbing out of a warm bed and she declined. I texted Josh about his situation. The power had gone out late the previous night and still was out. It was cool in the house but bearable. Another invitation to Handler's Hostel was extended. The current news was that this was the worst storm Toronto had ever seen. Three hundred thousand households in Toronto were without power and there was every possibility that power would be out for 72 hours, three days! I remembered the Quebec ice storm and the devastation it caused, hydro out for a week in some places. Immediately, comparisons to the Quebec ice storm were made. Commentators noted that this was not as widespread as the storm in Quebec, but it was definitely the creating havoc in the city. The mayor made an announcement. Yes, it was serious, yes many households were dark and cold but no this was not yet an emergency.
In the meantime, Josh had called. He and Christine were coming over to shower and recharge electronics. Was there room in my freezer? It would take about twenty minutes. An hour later, my power also went out, but as I was calling Josh to tell him I was also hit, the lights came back on. Josh still had not been able to clear his car of the ice and continued to scrape for a while before he could drive. I spread salt out on my porch, stairs, walkway and sidewalk, snapping the ice caked branches of the neighbouring butterfly bush.
Regular Sunday morning radio was cancelled. Hosts were accepting calls from listeners describing their problems and condition of the neighbourhoods. Spokespeople for Hydro, TTC, city works all came on air with updates. The damage from the storm was more widespread than had been estimated. Power could not be restored until all the fallen trees were cleared. Streetcars were out of service. The ice on the lines did not allow the power to reach the cars. Parts of the subway were closed because of trees on the tracks of the outside portions. There were not enough shuttle buses to handle the riding capacity. Two hospitals were without power and working on backup generators. All crews were working nonstop trying to restore power. But this still was not an emergency.
This was the season when everyone was trying to get away on holiday or to their families for the Christmas celebrations. Flights were delayed and then cancelled. Hotels were full with passengers waiting for rescheduled flights. Downtown hotels, normally quiet at this time of year, were full to capacity with line ups of more prospective guests. Businesses without power could not make sales and were closed during the last few frantic shopping days before Christmas.
Josh and Christine left for a movie. The second wave of the storm had started. Again, rain that fell turned to ice upon contact. As crews worked, more ice brought down more lines and more trees and more people were without power. Warming centers were opened, but seniors in high rises could not make their way out of the buildings without the elevators. People were using fireplaces, propane heaters and generators to try to get warm. Two people died of carbon monoxide poisoning due to poor ventilation. Many more were rushed to hospitals for the same reason. There were warnings about not bringing coal heaters barbeques or generators into the house. One woman in an Ajax hospital gave birth by flashlight ( I guess an upbeat human interest story was needed to lighten the mood.)
Gila finally arrived with her electronics and an overnight bag. While she played with her new computer, I prepared dinner and returned to the quilt. Josh and Christine returned from the movie and decided to head home in the hopes that hydro had been restored. Gila and I had dinner without them, cleaned up and watched some tv before turning in for the night. Josh still had no power but decided to stay at home and use extra blankets and the cats to keep them warm. Heaven realized that she could still prepare food on the gas stove opted to stay at Gila's. She also had extra blankets and a cat to keep her warm. I was happy that my power was still on.
It was now Monday morning. There was even more ice encasing the city but the rain had finally stopped. Any hopes that the warm air or sun would help melt the ice were dashed as the temperatures plummeted. Josh was on his way over again, still no power and Gila was still in bed. Christine sat in the living room still wearing her toque despite the warmth in the house. She wasn't taking any chances. I made waffles and warmed apple sauce for breakfast. Christine and Josh showered at my house again. Gila got up for her breakfast and the news was now that for some, the power would not be restored until the weekend. Josh and Christine had their own plans and left. Gila had appointments and left. I returned to the quilt.
In the afternoon the sun came out and the iced trees and streetscapes glittered. I was still not willing to go anywhere and continued quilting. With the sun out, it was time to try to clear the car before I needed to go somewhere. The car looked like it was glazed. My first step was to get the scraper out of the car. Easier said than done. The ice was so thick, it was impossible to open the door. I tugged for some time but seemed to make no progress. Time to try something else. I got a stick and started to scrape the ice out of the crevices around the door. I alternated the scraping and tugging and after a while, the door finally creaked open. I turn the car on, set the defrost to high and engaged the rear window heater. The ice was so thick that the antenna could not rise and the scraper barely scratched the ice on the front and back windows. The side window were somewhat easier to clear and once the defroster and heater warmed up the windows, they could be cleared as well. What I should have done was try to open the other doors.
Later in the afternoon, I prepared dinner again. Josh and Christine returned but had had a late lunch, so decided to pass on dinner and take their chances at home. Gila decided that the kitchen was under stocked. She made a stop at Loblaws and returned with enough groceries to stay for a month or provide for the Russian Army and came back with many bags of food. There was so much, I had trouble fitting all of it into the fridge and freezer. We had dinner together, and Gila called Heaven. Her hydro was still out. She tried to convince Heaven to come here for the night or at the very least to go to her cousin's house, but she insisted that she was fine. Josh called to report that his power had returned and his Christmas dinner was no longer in question. Gila called neighbours to find that her electricity was still off, so Gila decided to stay another night and watch a movie before calling it a day. She had never seen the Big Lebowski, a serious gap in her movie viewing experience, so we made ourselves comfy in front of the TV. The movie was engaging and in a mellow mood, Gila decided that Handler's Hostel was a good full service hotel and the restaurant was also very appealing. We went to bed hoping a return to normalcy the next day.
It was now Christmas Eve Day. The news in the morning was that progress in restoring hydro was made, but there were still 200,000 households without power. Some would have to celebrate a dark Christmas or find friends and family with power for the holiday. After another breakfast, Gilda thanked management for the hospitality and left to wrap gifts and celebrate a Jewish Christmas with others from her synagogue. I had adult literacy scheduled and left with what I thought was more than enough time to navigate icy roads safely. What I didn't count was that not all the fallen trees had been cleared and I had to double back several times before I gave up my usual route for the main street. Unfortunately that made me late for the session.
At the end of the session in the library, I offered my student a ride. The passenger door would not open as I had ignored it when I scraped the car the day before. It took ten minutes of tugging and scraping to get the door to open. That should have been an indication that I needed to deal with the other doors, but I didn't. I also planned a Jewish Christmas with Isabel and her friend Judy Cohen. Again opening the back door was problematic. I was ready to ask Judy to climb over the front seat to the back when I finally got firm footing and pulled hard enough to open the door. I was hoping that car would thaw a little more in the underground parking, but the garage was not much warmer than the outdoors.
Things were starting to return to normal. Josh hosted his dinner. Gila found that her power was finally on and I could easily open all the doors of the car. Because it was late, Gila decided to go home without her electronics and survival kit.
As far as I was concerned, the storm was history although 150,000 households were still in the dark. On Christmas morning, Anna and I went out for Dim Sum and I was surprised at how much yellow caution tape was still indicating impassable streets and the huge piles of wood at the side of the road of side streets. It wasn't until the drive home that I saw some of the true extent of the damage caused by the storm. On Kendall Ave., a huge tree had come down and initially had totally blocked the road. The trunk had been sawn in a number of places and the wood was stacked off the road, but unfortunately, a van was parked in front of that tree. The trunk landed on the roof but had not yet been removed. Needless to say, the roof was crushed. But the force had been such that a side window had been pushed out of its frame and the door was crumpled like aluminum. I was thankful that the tree under which I park stayed rooted to the ground. The branches did scrape against the roof and windows like witch's claws, but my car is intact, my power stayed on and I was able to help out someone who was not as lucky. Quite a change for someone who always seems to be a victim of Murphy's Law.
It is now Thursday, Boxing Day. The storm started Saturday afternoon. There are still 54,000 homes without power. Visually the storm was not as awesome as the Quebec ice storm, but in terms of the number of people affected and the difficulty reestablishing hydro it certainly is comparable. Although there was a lot of criticism with the announcement that the storm did not constitute an emergency, the city pulled together and provided regular update information related to road conditions, hydro and transportation and the service workers stayed on the job non stop, even over Christmas, Toronto finally deserves a little respect.
No comments:
Post a Comment