City says it wanted assessment from Hydro One before declaring State of Emergency

Mayor says we have to ‘continue to support one another’

With some residents wondering why Kawartha Lakes waited as long as it did to declare a State of Emergency, the chief administrative officer, Ron Taylor, said it was all about having enough information.

The State of Emergency was declared by the city on March 31.

“Our emergency response city-wide was activated on the weekend, and after initial assessments and immediate response, and less than 36 hours later, a state of emergency was declared,” Taylor told Kawartha Lakes Weekly.

Taylor said mainly they were waiting to hear from Hydro One.

“We declared a state of emergency on March 31 after receiving an update from Hydro One outlining the full extent of the outages. At that time, it became clear that many areas could be without power for the remainder of the week.”

Taylor said of concern is “the communications reliability for our emergency services throughout the city, namely stability of backup for emergency services communications.”

The CAO said they are preparing for additional resource redeployment and the possibility of greater impacts as the situation evolves.

“We have been in regular contact with the province from the beginning of the event, and declaring a state of emergency was not necessary (to get) provincial assistance,” he noted.

Kawartha Lakes Weekly asked Mayor Doug Elmslie what advice he might have for residents who may still be without power and feeling isolated right now?

Elmslie said he recognizes this is “a very challenging time, especially for those still without power or under a boil water advisory.”

“Our community paramedics are doing wellness checks on our most vulnerable residents and long-term care homes. At this time, all emergency and health care institutions are stable and have either full power or backup systems in place.”

The mayor said warming centres at several locations across the city have been set up to help residents stay safe and comfortable, “and will continue to operate and expand as power outages persist.”

The mayor added they are especially focused on getting all roads cleared of trees and debris.

However, the city can’t do everything, and if possible “please check in on your neighbours to see if they need support,” he said.

“For emergencies, call 911. For all other services, reach out to our customer service team by phone. If you’re cleaning up your property of storm debris, you can bring it to the Lindsay Landfill at no charge.”

The mayor added that the whole month of April is under a burn ban, given this is the time of year when grass fires are easily started. “Hold off for now, so we can keep our fire services at the ready for real emergencies. Let’s continue to support one another and get through (this) together.”