Community Rallies After Ice Storm in Peterborough

Cleanup efforts are ongoing after an ice storm hit central Ontario last week.

The storm left hundreds of thousands without power and many stuck at home due to downed trees and power lines.

The freezing rain ended last Sunday, which is when Sydney Gerzymisch and her fellow “greyshirts” from Team Rubicon, a humanitarian aid group, started their work in Peterborough, Ont.

“We like to look for the unmet needs of the community that we’re in,” she told CBC Toronto. “So we talked to them, we asked about their unmet needs, about the hydro situation. We talked about the trees down. And then we did a lot of driving around and just looking at the damage.”

Environment Canada first issued freezing rain warnings across the region on Friday, March 28, which lasted until around 11:30 a. m. on Sunday, March 30. Peterborough was one of the hardest-hit areas with 20 millimeters of ice accumulation – prompting its mayor to declare a state of emergency.

That’s when Team Rubicon stepped in to assist.

Sydney Gerzymisch is one of the volunteers from Team Rubicon that has been helping clear fallen trees with chainsaws in Peterborough this week. (Submitted by Sydney Gerzymisch)

The veteran-led organization supports communities during and after disasters. The group relies on volunteers or “greyshirts,” named for their grey t-shirts they wear as uniforms.

Many volunteers are veterans whose skills become essential during crises like this ice storm, Gerzymisch explained.

“[They’re] ex-first responders, people who have very specialized skill sets,” she said. “And when they leave that part of their life, they’re left kind of in limbo. Like what do you do with all this knowledge and all this experience that you have? It’s not really something you can often apply to just your everyday civilian life.”

For addressing the ice storm’s aftermath, these skilled volunteers have stepped up to help organize cleanup efforts outside those being done by municipal services.

Veterans contribute vital skills during emergencies

“We capitalize on all of that training and all those skills and all that experience that already exists in those folks,” Tim Kenney, Team Rubicon’s vice president of programs and field operations as well as a former infantry officer in the Canadian military told CBC Toronto.

“We begin to leverage it to fill the gaps,” he said.

This involved sending out chainsaw operators like Gerzymisch to help remove trees from yards and driveways – areas typically not managed by municipalities or insurance companies.

This kind of assistance means a lot for people affected by the storm, according to Gerzymisch.

“They haven’t been forgotten about. That’s really important to people … that someone is out there thinking about them and that they don’t have to do [the work themselves] because a lot of these trees are really dangerous,” she said.

WATCH | Some still without power after storm: 

Some Ontario residents remain without power as ice storm cleanup continuesPower outages continue affecting certain regions in Ontario hardest hit by last weekend’s ice storm. As CBC’s Dale Manucdoc reports, restoration efforts will continue into later this week while impacted areas prepare for more freezing rain expected Wednesday.

Gerzymisch has participated in several previous Team Rubicon missions elsewhere but this time feels personal since she grew up nearby and many family members were affected by the storm.

“You don’t expect for disaster to strike in your own home,” she said. “It’s very fulfilling for me to be able to help out and provide my local knowledge to all the other greyshirts here because I’m the only one really from the area.”

Acts of kindness along with strong community spirit have defined recovery efforts according to Peterborough Mayor Jeff Leal speaking with CBC Toronto

Community effort crucial for cleanup says mayor

“Neighbours helping neighbours. Team Rubicon [is] going into neighbourhoods where there is a high population of seniors helping them clean up yards filled with branches and other debris while also assisting low-income individuals who might not afford private services,” he stated. “It’s all hands on deck.”

The mayor noted that city resources will keep being used for aiding residents throughout cleanup.

He expressed hope that community camaraderie will persist as Peterborough along with surrounding areas works towards recovery following the storm.

Premier Doug Ford addressed updates regarding cleanup Thursday thanking frontline workers including volunteers from Team Rubicon.

He also emphasized improved communication systems need development so emergencies can be handled better going forward.

“We have to come up with a new mechanism because it’s very difficult when people can’t watch television,” Ford mentioned adding how cell phone solutions should be prioritized since … “their number one concern out there is communication.”

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