Historic Fort Erie storm recalled
An unforgettable weather event that crippled the Town of Fort Erie for nearly a week began 11 years ago.
It was a normal Thursday afternoon early in the fall when the rain started and eventually turned into a heavy, wet snow. It would continue to fall for hours as temperatures dropped overnight and into the early hours of Oct. 13, 2006.
Local residents sat awake in their homes hearing the bending, snapping and falling of tree branches onto cars, sheds, pools and neighbouring houses.
In the morning, the entire population was greeted with devastation and no electricity, something they would have to grow used to as it didn’t come back on in some parts of Greater Fort Erie for close to eight days.
As the leaves had not yet fallen from the local tree canopy, the weight of the snow became impossible to hold, causing limbs to break and crash to the ground everywhere in the community.
The first snowstorm of the year dumped 30 centimetres on Fort Erie. It was part of a system that walloped Buffalo, N.Y., with a record amount of snow and closed down the Peace Bridge. Zero visibility caused by blowing snow closed a section of the Queen Elizabeth Way entering the town. Police urged motorists to avoid the area until further notice.
Retired fire chief Jim Douglas, who spent 35 years with the Fort Erie Fire Department before calling it quits in 2009, says the October storm was the biggest emergency he ever dealt with, especially since it wasn’t localized to just one area. All 15,500 hydro customers in town were without power at one point.
“This effected the entire town,” Douglas said in a recent interview reflecting upon the historic blast of winter two weeks before Halloween.
The first order of business was making sure facilities like Douglas Memorial Hospital and local nursing homes were up and running with power.
“We had to ensure those types of places were still functional,” said Douglas.
One of the greatest challenges for the fire department and the several contracted groups assisting during the five-day state of emergency was navigating around town with so many trees creating blockades.
“You couldn’t get from point A to point B in a direct route – it was extremely difficult,” he said.
Four structure fires also occurred during the aftermath, all of them a direct result of the storm – involving improper use of generators and fireplaces in need of cleaning, according to the retired chief.
Altogether, Douglas said the town and Canadian Niagara Power (CNP), and everyone else who played a role, did a “fantastic” job.
“I was so proud of everyone,” said Douglas, who also said he spent a handful of nights at town hall during the crisis, sleeping in his office chair or wherever he could rest his head for a few hours.
He also commended Mayor Wayne Redekop for his role and leadership.
“He did an outstanding job at being in charge,” said Douglas.
Redekop, who was in his first term as Fort Erie mayor, recalls being at an outdoor fundraiser for the United Way at town hall when the weather took a drastic turn on Thursday afternoon.
When he arrived at home, his wife Cathy was removing piles of snow from the reachable tree branches in their yard. He also remembers hearing the crunching of tree limbs that many local residents heard all night.
He said the crews responsible for getting the town back on its feet after the storm are the real heroes.
“A lot of people suffered a lot of damage – the town and hydro company – they deserve a lot of credit,” said Redekop.
The storm caused more than $3 million in damage and CNP officials say it took about two months of hard work to recover.
The average time for homes without power in town was about four or five days but some were in the dark and cold for over a week.
“It took us a few weeks after that to get things back to normal,” said Kristine Carmichael, director of corporate and customer services for CNP.
Living in Welland at the time, Carmicheal remembers phoning her husband to let him know that she likely wouldn’t be making it home that night while other pockets of Niagara were still enjoying fall weather.
“There was no snow anywhere else in the region – it was really contained to Fort Erie and Buffalo,” she said.
Don Gilbert, manager of operations for CNP, was working for Niagara Falls Hydro at the time, and was part of one of the many crews dispatched to assist with the recovery.
When he reached Sodom Road along the Queen Elizabeth Way he realized those crews had their work cut out for them, seeing the arcing power lines and sparks flying while he was still on the highway.
“We knew what we were in for,” said Gilbert.
He said the co-ordination of the emergency response was “very well managed” and that many people and organizations deserve recognition.
Premier Kathleen Wynne
The cash is proceeds of the province’s carbon market auctions which are part of Ontario’s Climate Change Action Plan. The plan includes a target of cutting GHG emissions to 80 per cent below 1990 levels by 2050. The total amount Niagara receives is contingent on proceeds from the carbon market. The system, also known as cap-and-trade, puts caps on the amount of pollution companies in certain industries can emit, and if they exceed those limits they must buy allowances at auction or from other companies that come in under their limits. Ontario has held three quarterly carbon market auctions so far, with the Sept. 6 auction bringing in $525,694,672.
By law, the province must invest carbon market proceeds in programs to help households and businesses reduce GHG pollution, which helps save money on energy costs. This investment includes supporting a variety of energy-efficiency building retrofits and making electric vehicles more accessible.
About 19 per cent of Ontario’s renters — or 260,000 households — live in social housing, according to the province.
“This investment in affordable housing in Niagara is another great example of how Ontario’s Climate Change Action Plan and our carbon market work together to reduce harmful greenhouse gas pollution from our homes,” said Environement Minister Chris Ballard. “By helping make social housing apartments more energy efficient, we are not just fighting climate change, we’re also improving the quality of life for tenants, and helping shape a more prosperous, low-carbon future.”
Thursday’s announcement comes on the heels of an announcement made by Regional Chairman Alan Caslin that Niagara had received $5.4 million through the Ministry of Housing’s Home for Good program. That funding is intended to provide homes for at least 63 homeless Niagara residents and provide them with the supports they need to stay off the streets.
Thousands of renters in Niagara Region and across Ontario depend on affordable housing options like the social housing high-rises we are investing in today.”