9°c Light rain showers
15°c Mainly sunny
Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Saturday's weather blows... literally
Tree falls on house, power cut to many
SATURDAY'S blustery weather was to blame for the uninvited guest that tried to barge into Jorge Alvarez's home Saturday afternoon.
The Centennial neighbourhood resident was watching television just after noon on Saturday when he heard a very loud bang and felt his house shake.
"I looked through my front door's window and could only see leaves and branches. I went to the door and couldn't open it. A big tree had blown down on my house," Alvarez said as he waited for city officials to come and remove the fallen tree. The six-metre tree used to sit on the patch of road between the sidewalk and road in front of Alvarez's Patrick Street home.
Alvarez said although the tree caused extensive damage to the door and roof of his single-storey home, that wasn't what made him most upset about the tree intrusion.
"My three grandchildren had just left five minutes before that, through the front door. A very close call," Alvarez said.
Alvarez's leafy gate-crasher wasn't the only one causing an inconvenience Saturday.
Anthonie Koop, senior communications officer with Manitoba Hydro, said a large tree blew down on a feeder at Fermor Avenue and St. Anne's Road just before 10 a.m., causing about 1,400 homeowners in the St. Vital area to lose power for about an hour.
The wind also caused a plastic tarp to blow onto and wrap around some power lines, causing about 600 people in the Inkster Park area to lose power at 10 a.m. for almost two hours.
Koop said at about 2 p.m., Manitoba Hydro had already received calls from about 400 customers and, as a result, had to call in extra staff to help remedy the outages.
"It's been a very busy day all day, a lot of branches touching lines because of the wind, causing a lot of flickering lights and outages," Koop said.
Mark Melsness, with Environment Canada, said winds in Winnipeg reached about 50 to 60 kilometres an hour with gusts blowing at about 75 km/h. There were also gale warnings for the Lake Winnipeg area.
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition September 10, 2012 A4
More Local
- Back to Top
- Return to Local
More Local
(1 of 12 articles for today)
Firefighters pull man from submerged vehicle
9:14 AM 0Rescue divers pulled a man from a vehicle partially submerged in a retention pond in Fort Richmond this morning.
Police say ...
Poll
Most Popular Local
- Rainfall warning issued for southern Manitoba
- Firefighters pull man from submerged vehicle
- The end of the credit card?
- Apple trick on Ellen falls short for city woman
- Mourners line up to pay respects to Elijah Harper
- Power restored to Linden Woods after goose collides with lines
- Male facing charges after gun fired in Exchange District
- Police identify slaying victims
- Couple faces new charges of sexual assault
- Gentle, humble native leader who made history lies in state
- Charleswood deaths being investigated as domestic incident
- Man charged, victims identified in double homicide
- '2 minutes after I read the winning numbers, I retired': Winnipeg lotto winner
- Sex charges for ex-club boss
- Aboriginal leader Elijah Harper dies
- 'Responsible Winnipeg' ads appear on sign run by mayor-owned Goldeyes' baseball park
- Woman killed in head-on crash in southwestern Manitoba
- Police identify slaying victims
- Restaurant Dubrovnik demolished
- Headingley grass fire destroys dealership's cars
- Hundreds pitch in to dig out houses damaged, destroyed by Ochre Beach ice floe
- A child-custody catastrophe
- Charleswood deaths being investigated as domestic incident
- Man charged, victims identified in double homicide
- Co-worker 'sick' today? Maybe it's the $17M flu
- '2 minutes after I read the winning numbers, I retired': Winnipeg lotto winner
- Parents, community relieved and elated as missing boy found safe
- No threat from bag found at Winnipeg Square
- Man missing since 2009 found safe
- Earls on Main going, but new one coming
- Power restored to Linden Woods after goose collides with lines
- Accomplished Paralympian wins seat in B.C. legislature
- Elijah Harper: The humble man who said no
- WAG's 100 Masters exhibit drawing more than art aficionados
- Rainfall warning issued for southern Manitoba
- Firefighters pull man from submerged vehicle
- The end of the credit card?
- Police identify slaying victims
- Male facing charges after gun fired in Exchange District
- Tuxedo residents allege nightmare neighbour
- Province introduces changes to rules governing landlords, renters
- Crushing blow for amateur sport
- Aboriginal leader Elijah Harper dies
- Fishing for fashion
- An uncommon phenomenon
- Woman killed in head-on crash in southwestern Manitoba
- Sex charges for ex-club boss
- Newly minted MD a beacon for kids in youth program
- Power restored to Linden Woods after goose collides with lines
- March of the new penguins
- Hundreds pitch in to dig out houses damaged, destroyed by Ochre Beach ice floe
- Mental-health patients get own ER
- A child-custody catastrophe
- Black market in moose thrives
- An uncommon phenomenon
- Steen invests $1M in family entertainment centre
- Earls on Main going, but new one coming
- Province introduces changes to rules governing landlords, renters
- Crushing blow for amateur sport
- Boost same-sex curricula: union
Ads by Google
You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.
Have Your Say
New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.
The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010.