‘Ended up with a hole in our upstairs wall’: high winds topple trees, damage home
The cleanup has begun in parts on Manitoba as Friday’s gusting winds toppled trees and damaged at least one home.
According to a city spokesperson, more than 100 calls were made regarding fallen or damaged trees by 9 p.m. Friday night.
Cadets were forced to help direct traffic after tree debris blocked a lane on Inkster Boulevard at McGregor Street. Broken tree limbs also littered parts of Wellington Crescent.
According to Environment and Climate Change Canada, wind gusts peaked in the city at 77 kilometres an hour around 6 p.m.
high winds topple trees in Winnipeg
The damage wasn’t limited to Winnipeg. A home in Pilot Mound had a tree fall onto its roof, with a branch breaking through.
“It had been there a very long time and did creak in high winds,” said homeowner Elaine Popplestone. “We expected that some day it was going to go, and we just hoped it would have gone in a different direction.”
Popplestone said her husband was home when it happened. He thought it was just a fallen branch, but, upon closer inspection, it was the whole tree.
“There is a branch that punctured the roof and we ended up with a hole in our upstairs wall,” said Popplestone.
“The branch was still in there, blocked last night (when) the winds died down. We slept in our bedroom and had no problem.”
Because the tree was on the boulevard, the municipality is taking care of it. A tree service came by the home Saturday morning and cut it up. Someone else will pick up the pieces and take them to the dump.
Large tree damages house roof in Pilot Mound after strong winds on June 11 (Source: Elaine Popplestone)
Wind speeds in the area hit over 100 km/h, with Pilot Mound experiencing gusts of 104 km/h, the highest in the province, according to Environment Canada. Eight other Manitoba communities saw winds at or over the 100 km/h mark.
The high winds forced Manitoba Hydro to bring in extra crews from Winnipeg to Morden to deal with storm damage in the area.
In a tweet, Hydro said storm cleanup has been challenging after high winds and rain damaged poles and power lines. Hydro said power should be restored for most people by Saturday evening.
.high winds topple trees in Winnipeg
For Popplestone, her main concern now is rain.
‘I'm not worried, but it may be a good idea to cover the roof to not get any rain indoors,” she said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
How to avoid the trap of becoming 'house poor'
The journey to home ownership can be exciting, but personal finance columnist Christopher Liew warns about the trappings of becoming 'house poor' -- where an overwhelming portion of your income is devoured by housing costs. Liew offers some practical strategies to maintain better financial health while owning a home.
Toxic forever chemicals in drinking water: Is Canada doing enough?
As the United States sets its first national limits on toxic forever chemicals in drinking water, researchers say Canada is lagging when it comes to regulations.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Some customers steaming after McDonald's ends free hot drink sticker program
It took years for Vinnie Deluca to collect more than 400 cards worth of free McDonald's McCafe coffee, a collection that now has "zero value" after the company discontinued the program.
Biden scores endorsements from Kennedy family, looking to shore up support against Trump and RFK Jr.
U.S. President Joe Biden will accept endorsements from at least 15 members of the Kennedy political family during a campaign stop in Philadelphia on Thursday as he aims to undermine Donald Trump and marginalize the candidacy of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Where did the gold go? Crime expert weighs in on unfolding Pearson airport heist investigation
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.
When new leaders took over in ancient Maya, they didn't just bury the former royals. They burned their bodies in public
New archeological investigations in Guatemala reveal that the ancient Maya people had a ritual of burning royal human remains as a public display of political regime change.
Party's over: Coyotes play final game as Arizona franchise before move to Salt Lake City
Mullett Arena buzzed like few times in the two years since the Arizona Coyotes moved in, the fans amped for one last desert hurrah.