City of Hamilton hit hard by Ice Storm [Updates]

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Key Numbers
Life Threatening or Imminent Danger: 9-1-1
City of Hamilton: 905-546-2489
Horizon Utilities (Urban areas of Hamilton, Dundas, Stoney Creek, Old Ancaster, Waterdown): 905-522-6611
Hydro One (Rural areas of Hamilton): 1-800-434-1235

Websites
City of Hamilton
Horizon Power Outages
Hydro One Power Outages

Open and Closed
CLOSED
-Numerous Churches have cancelled early services

OPEN
-All City recs centres and arenas except Spring Valley & Carlisle
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Last Update: 2:00pm

Hamilton’s emergency officials working to assess overnight damage as Hamilton is hit by an ongoing ice storm that coated parts of the City with over 20mm of freezing rain overnight.

Restoring power will require coordination as crews will need to first clear fallen trees to give hydro crews access to neighbourhoods to repair downed lines.

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Hamilton Ice Storm

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Areas on top of the escarpment are especially hard hit, with Hamilton Mountain and Upper Stoney Creek without power in most neighbours and many streets barely passable due to fallen debris caused by heavy winds overnight.

Just after 2:30 a.m., winds picked up significantly and started breaking off branches and toppling trees across the City. Gusts of up to 70km/h were reported.

By 3:00 a.m., power had been knocked to tens of thousands of homes in the Hamilton area.

This morning crews are working to get power restored to all areas of the City.

Horizon reports 13,000 of its Hamilton customers are without power as of 9am.

Hydro One is reporting thousands without power in the rural areas.

At 7am, Hamilton Police advised of dozens of fallen trees across Hamilton Mountain with approximately 50 reports pending for police to arrive at.

The City says it has extra forestry crews on the road to assist hydro crews to get to lines needing repair and clear City streets.

Hamilton remains under a freezing rain warning from Environment Canada with another 10 to 15mm of freezing rain possible before the storm is over.