1) Thousands without power after Ontario thunderstorms

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press, April 30, 2025

TORONTO – A powerful storm Tuesday evening toppled trees and power lines in Ontario, where thousands remained without power Wednesday morning.

A Hydro One outage update indicated more than 60,000 customers were without power. 

The provincial utility said damaged trees on power lines and broken poles were part of the damage crews were assessing.

Environment Canada had warned of damaging winds, large hail and heavy rains ahead of the severe thunderstorm

Local utilities were reporting that about 1,000 customers were still without power in Toronto and around 500 in Ottawa, but the numbers were coming down early Wednesday.

Large parts of the province were under flood advisories. 

2) City of Barrie extends landfill hours every Saturday until May 31 to support ice storm clean up

Courtesy Barrie360.com and News Release

By City of Barrie, April 25, 2025

The city has extended the depot hours at the landfill every Saturday until May 31 to support continued ice storm cleanup. Extended hours on Saturdays are 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. The city is also continuing to waive residential brush tipping fees until May 31.

Along with the extended depot hours on Saturdays, the landfill site remains open Tuesday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The city has been experiencing a high volume of traffic at the landfill site, and you may experience wait times. Please be patient as we work to manage the increased demand. Hours at the landfill’s Household Hazardous Waste Facility are not extended and will remain 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Saturdays.

The landfill site is located at 272 Ferndale Drive North.

For more information about the landfill, visit barrie.ca/landfill and for more information on ice storm cleanup operations and support, visit barrie.ca/IceStorm.