WINNIPEG -- Out for a walk and surveying the damage from an intense early winter storm, David Lawler says it's sad to see all the tree branches down in Crescentwood’s Peanut Park.
"Yeah, it's pretty bad, it's like a hurricane or something came through, ‘cause there's just debris everywhere," said Lawler.
With the snow and rain storm over the cleanup is underway in Winnipeg.
"We still have some life-safety risks around downed powerlines, and we are still working on that, but we are shifting to a full out recovery operation," said Jason Shaw, assistant chief of emergency management with the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service.
Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman says more than 30,000 trees on city boulevards and in city parks are impacted. That does not include ones on private property. Bowman says the cleanup is expected to run into the New Year.
"We are all going to have to be extremely patient as the recovery amplifies and the ongoing efforts are underway, they're going to take many, many months," said Bowman.
The mayor says city staff and emergency services have been working extra shifts in response to the storm and recovery. He says crews are also coming from Saskatchewan and Alberta.
As a result Bowman says this will all cost Winnipeg tens of millions of dollars. His executive policy committee passed a motion calling on financial help from the province and the federal government.
"We're going to be looking to the provincial and federal governments to provide that support and to provide clarity on that support sooner than later," said Bowman.
In a statement the province says right now its main focus is getting power to those who are still without.
"While response efforts are ongoing and a full assessment of the impacts has yet to be completed, we expect the majority of the costs will be borne by Manitoba Hydro.”
While the exact price tag isn't yet known, all David Lawler has to do is take a walk down the street, and the cost estimates for the city and hydro are obvious.
"It's going to be in the millions and it's going to take a long time, but being Winnipeg, things will come back," said Lawler.