July 21, 2023 – The City continues to respond to the impacts of yesterday afternoon’s storm.
Extremely high winds, rain and hail shortly after 4 p.m. on July 20 resulted in numerous downed trees across the community, causing power outages and road closures.
In the immediate wake of the storm City forestry crews were deployed, prioritizing clearing of roads to ensure continued emergency access, with the assistance of Public Works teams. Environmental Services employees were deployed to ensure pumping stations continued to function during power outages.
The City’s full forestry compliment continues to work to clear trees, with 61 work orders currently active. Public Works is assisting in the process, including establishing road closures where still required.
The majority of primary travel routes have been cleared. Remaining closures are the results of downed trees in combination with downed power lines. These instances will be cleared once resources from Bluewater Power are available to assist.
The storm resulted in about 20,000 households without power. At this time approximately 1,000 households remain without power. Service is expected to be restored by this evening, or tomorrow morning.
Residents are reminded to stay clear of downed power lines.
Residents can report downed power lines and trees on power lines to Sarnia Police Dispatch at 519-344-8861.
Other concerns, such as downed trees on City property, can be reported via the City’s contact form at https://forms.sarnia.ca/Contact-Us
Special collections for brush are currently being scheduled to assist residents. Further information will be provided to residents via City social media and www.sarnia.ca.