Windsor storms, tornado trigger 1,000-plus requests to city forestry crews

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It could take Windsor forestry crews weeks to clean up downed trees and broken tree branches from storms, including a tornado, earlier this month.

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On Wednesday, the city said it had received more than 1,000 service requests about fallen trees on municipal rights-of-way. Roughly 600 of those requests have been deemed as “emergency” or “urgent.”

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“The Forestry Department, along with multiple contracted crews, continues prioritizing emergency situations, hazardous tree conditions, downed trees, and the hardest-hit areas,” the city said in a written statement.

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A powerful overnight storm the night of Sept. 2 snapped hydro poles, toppled trees, and knocked out power across the region. Before residents could clean up the trail of damage, a tornado ripped through part of Windsor’s Olde Riverside neighbourhood the next day, tearing the roof off of one home and yanking limbs from more mature trees.

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As of Wednesday afternoon, all roads have been cleared and are open to traffic, but trees and debris continue to block sidewalks throughout east Windsor.

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“The city is asking for patience as crews work diligently to address the situation, which could take several weeks to complete,” according to the city’s statement.

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Crews have worked closely with ENWIN Utilities to address tree damage that affected electricity. Some of the large and established trees damaged required “significant” equipment to address.

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ENWIN has completed repairs to its mainline electrical system.

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The storm also wreaked havoc on the city’s traffic signals. During the Sept. 3 storm, the city received 150 system alerts about 58 signals. Those were fully functional by 2 p.m. on Sept. 4, and staff continued to work through the weekend to complete maintenance and quality-control checks.

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“We appreciate the patience, cooperation and understanding of residents as crews continue this important work across the community,” the city said.

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Staff, in partnership with Miller Waste, is providing additional tree branch collection dates the week of September 14, but there are some restrictions. Residents are asked to limit the length of branches to 122 centimetres (four feet), limit the thickness of the branches to 10 centimetres (four inches), and limit the weight of the branches to 20 kilograms (44 pounds). Branches should be tied together, if possible.

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The city said it will provide more details about the additional tree waste collection dates on Friday.

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Any other storm-related tree waste can be brought to the city’s public drop-off depot (3560 North Service Rd. E.) at no charge.

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Residents are encouraged to contact 311 for more information. However, with high call volumes continuing, the city urges people to use the Windsor 311 mobile app or online portal when possible to log service requests more quickly.

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“Duplicate calls and reports slow down the response process,” the city said. “Once a request has been submitted on the app or online, residents can be assured it is in the system and will be addressed based on priority and available resources.”

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