Ice Storm operations and support

Dan Pollard  0:00  
K-Country is the Best country, yes, and it is morning drive with Dan and joined now by Dorianna. So is it Simone or Simone A?

Dorianna Simon  0:11  
It's Simone. Thank you,

Dan Pollard  0:12  
Simone. How are you?

Dorianna Simon  0:13  
I'm great this morning. How are you?

Dan Pollard  0:15  
I'm well, I do apologize I didn't give you much of a heads up. It's been crazy here this week. I know with that Well, ever since the the weekend, and I imagine that it's the same thing at York region. For those who don't know, Dorianna is the manager of health protection in York Region, and it's got to be a crazy time for you guys there.

Dorianna Simon  0:36  
Yeah, it's, it's really unfortunate, the ice storm and now the flooding, and so it's busy for everyone, and we and really appreciate the time to talk to you today about food safety.

Dan Pollard  0:47  
Yeah,

Dorianna Simon  0:48  
Actually, for residents that may have be experiencing the power outage,

Dan Pollard  0:51  
well, you know, it's in our our DNA not to throw food out to to save food, but there are times where we have to be safe. And you know, if you're looking at, say, two or three days, or maybe even more, say, three or four days, with the fridge being closed for the most part, in the freezer closed, where should you look first, as far as food that may have spoiled?

Dorianna Simon  1:14  
That's an excellent question. So with a refrigerator, if you keep the door closed as much as possible. Food usually stays cold for about four to six hours, and what you really want is to make sure that the food is outside of the danger zone, so less than four degrees Celsius. So if your food is more than four degrees Celsius for then you really should look at throwing out anything that would be, you know, could grow. It could be potentially hazardous, so your milk, your meat, that kind of stuff, with a freezer. If the freezer is fully stocked and closed, it's kept close as much as possible. Food can stay frozen for about 48 hours or two days. If the freezer is half full, it's about one day.

Dan Pollard  1:58  
Oh, really, because I guess it's basically a block of ice, right, correct?

Dorianna Simon  2:02  
Yep, yep. So the and if you keep it close as least as possible, you've got about two days, but the food is starting to thaw, and if you have the ice crystals that are still in the food, you can refreeze the food. So if you're lucky enough to have someone who isn't affected by the power outage, and can store your freezer contents for you. You can transfer those but once the food starts to defrost, and especially in freezers, I don't know about your freezer, but my freezer, these kind of all jumbled up. So if you have raw meat products that are starting to defrost and leak the raw meat juices, you really want to throw out anything that's come in contact with those raw meat juices,

Dan Pollard  2:42  
Right? Yeah, because that's where the bacteria is going to grow

Dorianna Simon  2:45  
Exactly, exactly. So we know that power has been out for a few days now with residents, so the food is probably defrosted, and they want to start looking at throwing out the food, especially, again, those hazardous foods like raw meat. And starting today, we know that there's food disposal bins that are being set up at the Pefferlaw Lions Reception Hall, and residents can also dispose of any food at the transfer stations as well. I think the key message here to residents is, if you're in doubt, please throw it out. It's not worth getting sick.

Dan Pollard  3:20  
It has I'm trying to remember the last time we would have had to deal with it. I guess it would be in a situation, and it was in Durham Region with Uxbridge with a tornado. But I'm trying to remember another time like this in recent history, in York Region. Can you remember a time?

Dorianna Simon  3:20  
We had, we had major power outage affected the whole east coast. I remember that one a lot.

Dan Pollard  3:44  
Well, see, every time I say that when they go, boy, you're old. Come on, I'm not that old.

Dorianna Simon  3:48  
I remember that one so you're not that old.

Dan Pollard  3:52  
Oh, thank goodness, yeah. Well, here's here's my story. I was working at TSN at the time, and I thinking, Oh, I have to go to work. No, have to go to work because the rest of the country has power, and they're going, what are you guys talking about? So I'm literally in a janitor's closet sitting next to Lloyd Robertson, and we're both getting our makeup on. He's going on in CTV, I'm going on in TSN, and we've got one of those mechanics lights hanging over, and the makeup artist is applying makeup to us, and we had to go on the air, on backup power that night. And there was another situation where it was like, I think, three days and everybody was barbecuing their meat. And that, I guess, was something else that people can do, if they're looking at what, two or three days the barbecue.

Dorianna Simon  4:35  
Yeah, absolutely, if you're food is defrosting, and you can get to cook it. And we want to make sure that people cook their food to a safe temperature. So for whole poultry, you're looking at about 82 degrees Celsius. If you've got burgers in the freezer, like I do, you know the burgers are done when they're at 71 so we want to make sure that when you if you are if your food is defrosted in your trying to eat it before it spoils, then absolutely cook it to the appropriate temperature.

Dan Pollard  5:02  
Well, so if somebody said, okay, you know what it looks like. This is going to be extended. I'm going to cook up all my my meat, maybe hamburgers and things like that. So they cook them up, and now they're storing them. What is that a good idea? Should you be looking at tossing that food out as well?

Dorianna Simon  5:20  
So yeah, for left if you have a cooler and you can keep the the leftovers cool in a cooler with lots of ice and a thermometer to be able to verify the temperature, you can you can keep your food in that case, for like, some good replacing the ice, you'd have to make sure you monitor it. But you can keep your food leftovers. In that case, if you have a cooler and some ice,

Dan Pollard  5:42  
right? Well, it sounds like there could be a lot of spoiled food, though, that is going and as you mentioned, the Town of Georgina setting up some food collection bins at the reception center at the Lions Hall in Pefferlaw, and also the transfer stations, you can leave your food there, and that's just the regular business hours, I would think for the transfer stations.

Dorianna Simon  6:02  
I believe so Yeah, and again, if there are any concerns, please, you know when in doubt, throw it out.

Dan Pollard  6:09  
Yeah, it would be horrible. And I would imagine that you guys can monitor that, that if there's a spike in people going to emergencies with food poisoning, things like that, a week later, or even how long would it take?

Dorianna Simon  6:23  
Signs and symptoms of food poisoning can vary depending on the organism, so 24 to 48 hours, sometimes even as long as over multiple weeks. We really want to avoid people experiencing that, especially during a powder power outage. But if you do start to experience any signs or symptoms, you know, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, please, please, please, go see your your your healthcare provider,

Dan Pollard  6:49  
And make sure that you are okay.

Dorianna Simon  6:51  
Exactly,

Dan Pollard  6:51  
Yeah, because it can spread very quickly and be very, very dangerous.

Dorianna Simon  6:55  
Exactly. One other thing I wanted to mention, we have a lot of individuals infants in the region that are probably affected by the power outage. So for anyone who is making baby formula, if you're on a well, to please consider using bottled water until you can get your well tested. Sometimes the power outage affects the pumps and which would affect the amount of water coming in. So we strongly suggest using bottled water to make your infant formula and then to check your water quality before starting to use your well water for baby formula.

Dan Pollard  7:30  
Well, listen, we want to thank you for your time, and obviously tough times for a number of people and some still waiting for a power to come back on, we want to make sure everybody is safe even when the lights are turned back on. Again, Thank you for your time this morning.

Dorianna Simon  7:45  
Thank you so much, Danny. I really appreciate it.

Dan Pollard  7:47  
Okay, take care

Dorianna Simon  7:48  
You too, goodbye.

Dan Pollard  7:49  
Bye. That is Simone. Pardon me. Dorianna. Simon, she is the manager of health protection in York Region, and we can't stress enough. As she said, if in doubt at all, throw it out.

Dan Pollard  0:00  
There he is. Is it Mr. Ron Jenkins,

Ron Jenkins  0:02  
speaking

Dan Pollard  0:03  
Well, there, where there is smoke, there's fire, and when there's fire, there's Ron Jenkins. How was that good?

Ron Jenkins  0:07  
How are you, Dan, it's been a while since we've spoken.

Dan Pollard  0:10  
Yeah, well, you've been kind of busy. What? What a crazy time. Do you remember any time like this during your career?

Ron Jenkins  0:20  
Well, as you, as you're aware, I've had a fairly lengthy career, and this is certainly up there with one of the more significant events that we've had to deal with, for sure.

Dan Pollard  0:27  
Yeah, no, what's what was your biggest concern when you saw the forecast coming into the the weekend, and then I think people kind of let their guard down a little bit on Saturday, because it was like, Oh, this isn't so bad up here. And then everything hit Saturday night into into Sunday but when you got up Sunday morning, what was your biggest concern?

Ron Jenkins  0:46  
Well, it started for us Saturday afternoon, and as you can appreciate, we monitor the weather with Environment Canada. So we were given a heads up this storm was coming, as were our residents, probably on the Wednesday. The details were still pretty, pretty high level. Moving into Saturday, Environment Canada gave us an update, and this ice storm itself was supposed to be north of us, the large, greatest amount of ice from Owen Sound stretching over to Peterborough and Kingston area, we were to get freezing rain in the area of five to 10 millimeters, which is significant, you know, to cause icing on the roads and branches to come down. The wind was going to be very minimal. So from an emergency management standpoint, this was going to be a relatively low risk. Yes, there was going to be branches come down, but nothing, nothing like we ended up receiving. And the reason being, and we just were on a meeting yesterday with Environment Canada, was the intensity of the storm, the rain, as we all know, especially the residents to the east, eastern side of Georgina, the accumulation just continued to increase. And from five o'clock Saturday right through until Monday, our roads crews, our emergency crews and our residents. Residents felt this significant impact, power outages, trees coming down. This was a very, very hazardous storm.

Dan Pollard  2:13  
Yeah. Now what? What are your thoughts now going into this afternoon, it looks like it won't be the same accretion, however I'm looking, and those winds are expected to hit about what, 60 kilometers an hour.

Ron Jenkins  2:26  
Yes, and thanks, Dan for bringing that up. So we've driven through the town. Our roads crews and operations crews have done a great job of trying to keep our roads clear. We still have roads that are closed. What I can't stress enough to our residents is stay away from any downed power lines. There's still power lines down. Trees are down, obviously, but one of the greatest concerns right now is the broken limbs, damaged trees that are up in the canopy, with this wind coming in as you state, that could just be all that's required for that limb to come down. And you know, we've had individuals seriously hurt in the past by limbs coming down. And I've driven through this town looking in people's yards, there is just numerous, numerous broken limbs up in the tree canopy. So my concern is a those limbs coming down, and the next concern is somebody trying to go up there and dislodge that limb themselves

Dan Pollard  3:21  
and power as well, right?

Ron Jenkins  3:24  
And power, we have professional people in the in the area you need a certified Arbor to do that work I wouldn't attempt it yourself,

Dan Pollard  3:32  
man. I tell Yeah, I just, I can't remember. I remember the ice storm that hit more Quebec than than us, but it certainly has had that same impact in in our area, and you guys have backup power, etc, etc, in these situations.

Ron Jenkins  3:49  
Yes, all our stations have backup power. Our warming centers have backup power. We've opened up a reception center over in Pefferlaw at the Lions Hall. We have a mobile backup generator power in that building, the Lions Club, the service club, has come to stepped up, and they're providing meals there for the residents. This is a significant event. We spoke with Hydro One yesterday in their levels. This is a level three, the highest level. It's the worst event they've seen in 20 years. This is a province wide ice storm, and yes, we're going to get hit with it again today. It won't be as significant. We're hoping it won't be as significant, but then we didn't think the last one was going to be so I would urge everyone to be cognizant that they may lose their power again, top up their generator and again, from a safety perspective, I went to a call last night where an individual had a generator running inside their garage with the garage closed. They weren't home. Fortunately. Don't know why they did that, but the carbon monoxide levels were over over the level of life threatening. Generators must be well away from your home.

Dan Pollard  5:04  
Well, hopefully everybody does stay safe. Listen, Ron, thanks for your time, and we're wishing you guys the best. We know that you guys have been running full tilt since the the weekend, and we thank you and all those who are out there clearing the roads and making sure that people are safe.

Ron Jenkins  5:19  
No and I thank you for providing messaging to our community. That's one of the issues we have is, you know, cell services down, internet's down, so, yeah, you've you're providing a great service to our community by keeping those messages about safety coming out.

Dan Pollard  5:32  
Well, it's the least we can do. That's what being a member of the community is all about. Listen, Ron again, thanks for your time this morning.

Ron Jenkins  5:39  
No, thank you. Take care.

Dan Pollard  5:41  
Bye.

Ron Jenkins  5:41  
Bye.

Dan Pollard  5:41  
That is Ron Jenkins. He is the chief of fire and rescue services here in the town of Georgina. Again, be prepared. And you know, can't stress enough, stay away from those canopies.

• Georgina residents can continue drop off tree debris at the Pefferlaw Lion’s Hall on Pete’s Lane in the south end of the parking lot. The drop-off hours for tree debris are –
  • April 23 to April 25 noon to 7:30 p.m.
  • April 26 to May 2 noon to 4 p.m.
• May 2 is the final day for drop off of tree debris at the Pefferlaw Lion’s Hall location.
• Yard waste pickup began on April 7 and will continue weekly for the entire month of April. Residents are reminded that the usual collection rules apply. All brush must be bundled, no longer than four feet in length, and weigh no more than 22 kg.
• Tree debris can also be taken to the waste transfer station located at 23068 Warden Ave. Drop off of tree debris and yard waste is free for Georgina residents for the month of April. When dropping off, inform staff that the waste is from the ice storm.

Canadian Tire Gas Station

24268 Woodbine Avenue 905-476-5945

Esso

22766 Woodbine Avenue 905-478-4474

Esso

20993 Dalton Road 905-722-9342

Mobil

20835 Dalton Road 905-596-1188

Petro-Canada

24428 Highway 48 905-722-3800

Petro-Canada/Neighbours

1514 Ravenshoe Road 905-476-4461

Pioneer Gas Bar

248 The Queensway South 905-476-7432

Shell Canada

31044 Highway 48 705-437-1445

Shell Canada

159 Metro Road South 905-989-1664

Udora Market

5 Victoria Road 705-228-8111

Ultramar

28332 Highway 48 705-437-1055

• De La Salle, Young’s Harbour, Udora Park and North Gwillimbury Parks are closed due to large hanging branches. All other parks are open. Caution is to be used.
• Fallen trees and flooding have also impacted local forests and trails. The Metro Tract at 1763 Metro Rd. N. and the Pefferlaw Tract parking lot are closed. Clean-up efforts are expected to take a few weeks.
• Georgina Fire and Rescue Services reminds residents to stay clear of downed power lines, as well as downed trees and broken limbs. If you see a downed power line stay at least 10 metres away and notify hydro and emergency services immediately.

• Telephone and cell service has been impacted. Some customers in these areas may have difficulty reaching 9-1-1 due to local landline outages caused by the storm. Customers who need to access 9-1-1 should attempt to do so with their wireless device as wireless service impacts vary within each region. Further information at bell.ca and rogers.com.

• Flooding factsheet – Preventing injuries and illness, preventing food-borne illness and keeping food safe, preventing mold, cleaning and disinfecting.
• Power outage factsheet – Food safety – refrigerators and freezers – what and when to throw out food, safe water, carbon monoxide poisoning, electrical hazards.
• Sewage backup factsheet – Health concerns, private sewage systems, preventing and cleaning sewage backup.