Clean up continues after Canada Day windstorm

Onlookers on Cobourg Street marvel at a colossal tree taken down during the Canada Day storm. After winds exceeding speeds of 100 kilometres an hour ripped through Stratford, city crews and contractors still clean up.

By: Connor Luczka, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

A week after 100-kilometre wind gusts ripped through Ontario, the City of Stratford is still cleaning up.

On July 1, right after Canada Day celebrations wrapped up at Market Square, a rainstorm hit much of southwestern Ontario, including Stratford. About an hour before the annual Canada Day parade started, wind exceeding speeds of 100 kilometres an hour caused widespread damage throughout the city.

“Storms with wind speeds at 100-plus kilometres an hour causing tree damage is not a surprise,” Quin Malott, manager of parks, forestry and cemetery with the city, wrote to the Times. “There was property damage to porches, cars and fences and hydro stacks from shear wind and fallen trees and limbs.”

According to Const. Darren Fischer, community resource and media relations officer with the Stratford Police Service, local police were bombarded with calls during the storm. They received over 100 911 calls within half an hour.

“Ultimately, there were only a couple that truly required a police response,” Fischer said. “Most of the calls were notifications that power was out in various areas, trees were down on various properties and hydro lines were down. Two of the more significant calls were regarding a tree that came down onto a vehicle on Douro Street while driving. There were no injuries and it was cleaned up quickly by the city and Neumeister Motors. Another was a hydro line that came down as a result of a tree. The hydro line was sparking and caused a small fire to the tree. Stratford Fire attended and was able to help resolve that issue quickly as well.”

Right away, city staff from the parks and forestry department and public works, as well as contractor Lange Brothers Tree Service, had crews on the ground to clean tree debris off roads, sidewalks and driveways, prioritizing clean up on hydro infrastructure to allow Festival Hydro to revitalize power. A second contractor crew worked on dangerous broken tree limbs still suspended in trees.

Malott noted the clean up will continue late into the following week, with heavily damaged trees to be prioritized for removal based on safety concerns. Inspections will continue on other damaged trees for future pruning and removal.

The city noted in a post on its Facebook page, that if there are city trees (trees located on the boulevard between the road and a property line) that need attention, citizens can let staff know by completing the Report an Issue form on its website, found here: https://forms.stratford.ca/Report-an-Issue.

Any damaged tree on private property should be dealt with by a professional tree service.

Any leftover debris not already disposed of can be put outside during the city’s next curbside yard waste pickup, scheduled for July 20-24.