The South Bayview Bulldog

Green dots show clusters of homes or maybe just one

Sutherland Drive

Across South Bayview and the whole of the City individual residents are without power while their neighbors’ homes are brightly lit. It is a Toronto phenomenon when winds strike at our large tree cover. Some trees lose branches or just fall entirely. Usually they drop across the wires carrying power into one or two homes. The photo above shot today on Sutherland Drive is typical of Leaside.  A homeowner and his neighbors discuss how the old tree on his property fell across the wires into both homes. They are probably still waiting for hard-pressed Toronto Hydro crews to get there. Hydro has chosen the colour green to show the fewest number of customers affected. It can mean just one. Someone called it the green measles. Map

Firewood pole

Top-heavy looking

Sweeping up

Assorted wires

Toronto Hydro arrived at Mt. Pleasant Rd. and Belsize Drive late Saturday afternoon and took down the old utility pole that gave way in Friday’s wind. It was an top-heavy looking thing with apparatus not frequently seen on a pole. There is a similar one across the street on the northeast corner. The downed pole is now firewood and at dinnertime workers, who have been on the job for 14 hours, were taking down dangling wires. It is not clear when power will return to places like Belize Public House. It may be Sunday. .

Councillor Josh Matlow’s newsletter dated May 4 takes note of  meetings related to developments in Ward 22. Among them are the Times Group proposal for 1951 Yonge St. on May 10, 98 Eglinton Ave. E. on May 16 and 808 Mt. Pleasant (the Best Western proposed redevelopment) on May 17. Find details here.

Captain James Sullivan, and his daughter Jennie Olafson/CTV capture

A dad and daughter piloting duo are profiled by CTV. James Sullivan, left, and his daughter, Jennie Olafson are flying Boeing 787 Dreamliners across the Pacific for Air Canada. In Hawaii, residents are bracing for further earthquakes and volcano activity after the eruption of Mt. Kilauea in its most violent awakening since the 1970s. Below that, it emerges that Meghan Markle will have zero bridesmaids at her wedding this month while in Verona, the exotic sports car show to top them all is underway.

Rookieball at Davisville Park/Bulldog

Compost Day/Bulldog

Exquisite Luna/Bulldog

Fries from Waxy’s on Wheels/Bulldog

Instant dandelions/Bulldog

Goodbyer 28 Southvale/Bulldog

Lemonade at yard sale/Bulldog

Rookieball action at Davisville Park Saturday ended with good sportsmanship. Here the teams shake hands. The Orioles (in orange of course) defeated the Dodgers and it was a challenge to remember the score. Well played men. At the right, three shots of the exquisitely patterned Whippet named Luna as she disported herself at the Park and Bark event on Yonge St. at Millwood Rd. At the left, Jon Burnside’s Compost Day saw this stalwart assistant helping a resident to take home some natural fertilizer from the big pile outside Leaside arena. At the bottom right is a handsome lemonade salesperson on Southvale Rd. who took advantage of mom and dad’s yard sale. Yes, it’s that time again. At left, the tempting fries are from Waxy’s on Wheels and were available at the Park and Bark. Below that we see instant dandelions beside the well-used tennis courts off Mt. Pleasant. Last week there was ice. At bottom, goodbye to 28 Southvale Dr. By the way, work has begun on 3-5 Southvale, the Shane Baghai condo beside the arena.

Hanging on for dear life on Davisille/credit in text

Person at top has been knocked down by wind, others hide

As many as 21,000 customers are still without power in Toronto Saturday morning and at least 190,000 across Ontario are also affected after yesterday’s wind storm. A man is dead after scaffolding fell on him at a construction site at corner of Yonge and College Sts. The Toronto Hydro outage map shows there has been progress restoring power to large parts of near East York across the Don Valley. Many blackouts continue however both there and in Leaside and Davisvile Village. Power is out at some shops and businesses and Mt. Pleasant Rd remains closed  as Hydro still has not been unable as of noon Saturday to replace the hydro pole at the corner of Belsize (see post below). People in pictures above shot by Monkeynastix Toronto@MonkeynastixT show people bowled over on Davisville Ave. Others cling to poles to stay upright or find cover.

Current (we think) outage map

MP’s strategy meeting by candlelight

The outage in near East York across the Don River Friday night is quite substantial, as an updated version of the Toronto Hydro map monitoring such issues shows. It was published at 9.15. Previously, it showed minimal outages. But, life goes on. A strategy meeting held by MP Judy Debrusin was held by candlelight. Toronto Hydro Outage Map

Mt. Pleasant Rd. is closed until Toronto Hydro or Hydro One (or both) can attend to the pole at the corner of Belsize Drive. It came down in the wind Friday afternoon. Fire and police personnel have been keeping order at the scene since about 5 p.m. The street is closed from Penrose Rd. to Millwood Rd. A few businesses are without power. Fire officials were surprised at how few seemed dark The Belsize Public House and Mt. Pleasant Rd. Baptist Church are out. It seems possible morning traffic will re-routed.

https://twitter.com/TheMikeSirois/status/992529762366115842

Gardiner Eastbound and 427 S exit ramp 🙏 #windstorm #caronfire @CP24 pic.twitter.com/30xsKtmxdv

— Anjo Pallasigui (@anjopallasigui) May 4, 2018

Keep smilng

Fleming Crescent and homes nearby were blacked out Friday night after winds snapped wires all along the street and brought down an 90-year-old Maple near Parkhurst Blvd. The owner of the tree said he knew from the sound the tree was making late in the afternoon that there was trouble coming. But there was nothing he could do. Free fire wood until it’s gone.

Wires down at many homes

Free firewood

Old roots gave up

Broken electrical lines attached to a twisting metal sign cause sparks on the top of a TTC streetcar on Friday afternoon. (Nick Murphy/Submitted to CBC)

Shingles fly (Photo: Naomi Parness / Twitter @naomiparness)

Albemarle Ave in Riverdale (Photo: Sam Bornstein / Twitter @SuasionSam)

As many as 100,000 customers across Toronto were without power Friday night as a result of the surprisingly damaging afternoon wind storm.  A large outage eoccurred in near East York across the Don Valley. The blackout stretched from Danforth across Mortimer Ave up to parts of O’Connor Drive. Toronto Hydro appealed for patience as it worked to restore electricity. Former CTV reporter Naomi Parness tweeted a picture of shingled and social media saw dozens of photos of fallen trees. Caution is still urged around downed power lines. Toronto Hydro suggests drivers stay at least 10 metres back (length of a school bus) to be safe.

TREE WORKER KILLED

A man working on trees has been killed in Milton and another seriously injured in the fall of a tree Friday. Halton Regional Police say the men were working on a tree in the area of Side Road 20 and Fourth Line Nassagaweya in Milton this afternoon when the tree collapsed. A man in his 50s was struck by a falling tree in the Bloor Street West and Windermere Avenue area of Etobicoke, Toronto paramedics said. The man was taken to local hospital for treatment of undetermined injuries.

Traffic light at unstated location

Woman tweeted swinging chandelier in her high-rise condo

Sabrine Djermane

El Mahdi Jamali

A Montreal couple acquitted on the majority of terrorism-related charges have signed a peace bond after authorities were still frankly suspicious about what they might do. Canadian Press reports that Sabrine Djermane and El Mahdi Jamali agreed to sign an undertaking Friday to keep the peace over the next 12 months and respect a host of conditions. They were charged last year with conspiring to commit a terrorist act but subsequently acquitted except for a conviction against Jamali for possession of an explosive charge