The fire chief in Chatham-Kent is reporting a busy night and morning for firefighters with over 100 calls for downed power lines and one house fire in Wallaceburg.
Chief Chris Case told CK Mornings with Chris and Matt the ice that fell Wednesday night into Thursday morning is heavy and caused hydro wires to fall in many places across the municipality. Chief Case also said that public works crews have responded to at least 10 fallen trees across the municipality so far.
Case said everyone is doing a good job handling the adversity and the volume of calls for service.
He also warns the public to be careful especially around fallen power lines. The chief said if one finds themselves in a vehicle with a downed hydro wire on it, the best thing to do is to stay in the vehicle, assume the power line is live, and don't touch it. Chief Case strongly advises the public to call 911 in those cases to get instructions from the professionals. He said getting out of a vehicle when there is a power line on top of it is very dangerous.
"If you see a downed line, assume it's live. Don't try and judge whether it's a power line or something else. Assume it's a power line. Don't try to move it," said Case. "Call 911 and wait for the instructions of the firefighter, the police officer, or the Entegrus or Hydro One engineer who will tell you what to do. If you stay in your car, you'll be safe."
Entegrus is reporting several power outages across Chatham-Kent because of downed tree limbs on power lines, fallen hydro wires, and broken hydro poles. Entegrus officials noted there's significant damage throughout the region and multiple crews from neighbouring utilities will be assisting them with restoration efforts.
Chatham-Kent Fire and Emergency Services are also reminding people to remember to make sure electric stove elements and small appliances are off or unplugged to prevent fires from occurring when the electricity is restored.
Chief Case is also giving emergency centre dispatchers a big shout out for handling thousands of calls in such a short period of time and guiding crews to the various calls. He said they don't often get the recognition they deserve.
The public is also being asked to be careful because the ice on structures and trees is starting to fall as it melts.
Director of Public Works Ryan Brown said late Thursday afternoon that the clean up has gone very well.
"We have had about 10 road closures for trees and power lines over the last 24 hours. Roads are in good shape, however the melting and freeze again tonight [Thursday night] could make for slippery conditions for those out picking up branches on their properties," Brown said.
The municipality has opened the Tilbury Arena as a warming centre until midnight for residents without power.
