Where were you when the lights went out?
For thousands of Toronto residents, the answer was "in the cold and dark."
And until just before 10pm Friday, that continued to be the response for many.
It all followed a massive power blackout that left a wide area of Toronto's west end without any electricity for a full day.
Crews were hard at work for hours trying to fix the problem. And by 3pm, three quarters of those in the dark were feeling their first home heat in hours. A little less than seven hours later and word came down from Mayor David Miller that the remaining quarter was once again with juice, though Toronto Hydro promised r
eception centres would stay open until midnight with one new centre -
209 Jameson Ave. - open for residents needing overnight shelter.
See the list here.
Elderly or people with disabilities who require assistance were asked to call
(416) 392-9391. And those headed for a reception centre were asked to please bring any medications.
All this began innocently enough Thursday night, when the lights blinked out in an area bounded by
St. Clair to the north, Queen St. to the south, Jane St. to the west and Spadina to the east.
It seemed like just another outage, one every Toronto resident has experienced at one time or another. Most expected the problem would be fixed in an hour or two, as it usually is.
But this time, they were wrong.
A flood in hydro's Dufferin substation shorted out the system and there was so much water, officials weren't able to reconnect the hydro because of the danger. The result: thousands and thousands of people were left in the dark on one of the coldest nights of the year.
Temperatures were down in the -20s Celsius range for much of the night, and the thermometer only moved slightly by the time the sun came up. Some residents affected by the outage emailed
CityNews that their homes were down to about 4C, and the situation was getting worse.
The black hole in west end Toronto, as seen from the
CityNews
Eyes of Toronto on top of the CN Tower
Many were unable to make any meals or ward off the bitter cold, and some wound up stuck in their homes or apartments, facing a day of uncertainty. Among the problems: the threat of frozen pipes.
"We want to remind residents - to avoid having issues with your water in your homes, the thing you do is go to the basement to the lowest point in your home and turn on the faucet at a very low, low rate," instructed Kevin Sack of the City of Toronto. "So long as the water is moving through the pipes and so long as there is a trickle it ensures that the pipes don't freeze. Toronto Water says if you do that, you will not have difficulty with your water service."
The city responded by opening the seven warming centres, places where residents without heat could go to warm up for as long as the plug remained pulled.
While the blackout caused all the usual problems you can imagine, there were other effects you might not have thought about. At Vermont Square (below), a seniors' home in the affected area, many less mobile residents were trapped upstairs with no way to get down for their meals.
And that left staff with only one solution. "We carried the food," explains administrator Marian Godoy. "We had to be prepared to have a human chain up the stairs because we have no elevator."
Officials were also offering help to the elderly and the disabled trapped by the blackout in their own homes.
Those with pets were invited to head to the Toronto Humane Society at 11 River St., where food and water were being provided for the animals and warmth for the owners.
But getting there wasn't easy.
Parts of the
Bloor-Danforth subway line were affected by the outage and while the TTC used reserve power to keep things running Thursday night, it eventually drained and the service had to be stopped.
About 40 shuttle buses were driven out to replace the lost trains but the vehicles can only hold about a hundred people, while subway trains can carry almost ten times that load. The result was chaos during the morning rush, as frustrated commuters were forced to stand outside in the freezing cold to get onboard over-crowded buses that couldn't hold them all.
And many were taking the Better Way for the first time in years, because their cars were trapped inside their garages, equipped with electric doors that wouldn't open. That only added to the crowds and the frustration.
Full service didn't resume until just after 2:30pm, promising a smoother, if packed ride home.
The drivers who could get to their vehicles were equally stymied on the roads, because traffic lights weren't running at a large number of intersections. Police were on point duty at many of them but couldn't cover them all, and traffic was very slow as drivers were forced to treat major corners as four way stops - when other motorists cooperated.
While the buses and the streets were jammed, the classrooms in the affected area were not. Both the Toronto Catholic and the Toronto District School Board immediately cancelled classes for the day at a
large number of schools. Both Boards say the doors will reopen on Monday.
While many kids welcomed the long weekend, businesses weren't so happy about being forced to take the day off. "I'm going to go seek warmth probably at a coffee shop or something and do what I can with a battery powered computer," shrugs Mark Bateman, who owns a bike store.
The blackout couldn't have come at a worse time, on one of the
coldest nights - and days - of the year. City crews have been out all week battling water main breaks but the mayor took great pains to point out original reports that a main break was to blame for the hydro vault flooding simply weren't accurate.
"There has been some reporting early on based on a report from Toronto Hydro that a city water main broke. That is not true," he declares definitively.
It has been an upside down day for thousands and most were just hoping to get back to normal.
But "normal" is something that many people caught in this mess didn't feel for hours.
It was the longest blackout to hit the GTA since
August 2003, when a massive power failure knocked parts of the U.S. and Southern Ontario off the grid. That incident left thousands of GTA residents without electricity for up to two days in the middle of a blistering heat wave.
In that case, a tree falling on a hydro wire started the cascade of events. In this one, officials are promising to check into what happened so it doesn't occur again.
Related stories:
Thousands Cope Without Power On One Of The Coldest Nights Of The Year
Local Mall Becomes Warming Centre During Power Emergency
Internet Proves Valuable Resource For Those In The Dark
Will You Be Ready For The Next Blackout?
Returning Home
Power and Energy
Use a flashlight - don't light matches or turn on electrical switches if you suspect damage or smell gas.
Do not start major appliances until the house has returned to near normal temperature.
Ensure that stoves, ovens, washing machines, electronics and portable space heaters are turned off at the switch.
Turn on power to the house breaker box - with all appliances still unplugged.
Turn power on to individual appliances (including refrigerators and freezers) when they are warmed up.
If you turned off the gas, it should only be turned back on by a professional from the gas company.
If there is flooding, do not operate appliances, electrical outlets, switches or fuse-breaker panels until they have been checked and serviced by a qualified technician.
Water
Do not turn on the house water supply until indoor air returns to near normal temperature - in the 20C range.
Close all open taps, close hot water tank drain, reconnect washing machine hoses and the drain.
Turn on water at water service entrance.
Ensure that hot water taps are running and that the hot water tank is full before turning it on. Electric hot water tanks can be turned on at a breaker. If you have a gas hot water tank, call a service person to restore the gas to the tank.
Turn on the tap which is on the highest level in the house until water is flowing, to bleed air out of the system. Ensure that drains are not clogged with ice or cracked by freezing. Run other taps until water is flowing. Check for leakage from pipes where possible. If you find leaks, turn off the water supply to the leaky pipe or turn off water at the service entrance until leaks are repaired.
If you are on a septic system, do not add antifreeze, salt or additives to the septic tank and do not run the water continuously to unfreeze the system. Many contractors have pressure steamers to defrost frozen piping or can install heat tape or a tank heater.
Check sump and sump pipes for freezing before starting the sump pump.
If there is flooding in the basement, drain the water in stages, about a third of the volume of water per day. Draining the water too quickly can structurally damage your home. CMHC's booklet - "Cleaning Up Your House After a Flood" - contains useful information. You can obtain it from your local CMHC office or by calling
1 800 668-2642.
More Tips
Do not use an open flame to thaw frozen pipes.
Confine or secure your pets until the house is deemed safe.
For more info from the CMHC on protecting your home,
click here.