Some customers still without power in Oro-Medonte, cleanup efforts continue

About four per cent of customers in Oro-Medonte remain without power as crews continue mass cleanup efforts.

Hydro and clean up crews continue the endless clean up job across the county following the ice storm. About four per cent of customers in Oro-Medonte remain without power Wednesday.

“We’ve got the vast majority of our roads back open for two way traffic the only places where roads remain closed is where there are crews and we have hydro lines still down” says Randy Greelaw, Oro-Medote Mayor.

Oro-Medote resident, John Atkinson, spent the day on his two acres trying to clean up. He got his power back Sunday night.

“Right now we are just in the clean up phase trying to clean this up which we figure will take several months maybe even years,” says Atkinson.

While the clean up continues in Orillia, the City has ended its state of emergency. Now, 86 customers remain without power. Many of those are on Grape Island and will take some time to get to because of ice on Lake Simcoe.

Over at Hardwood Ski and Bike, the heavy snow fall from winter and downed trees from the storm have made a mess on the trails. It’s reopening is now expected sometime in May.

“We have 40 kilometres of ski trails and 80 kilometres of bike trails and the big issue is that they’re pretty much impassable with trees and dead fall and down fall” says Gareth Houben, president and general manager of Hardwood.

Ralphy’s Retreat animal Sanctuary in Tay township has had a rough go the last couple of weeks too. The storm caused a great deal of damage.

“It’s a big job. We have approximately 40 volunteers that have been working around the clock to try and clean it up but it’s bigger than us we’ve just been hit by crisis after crisis this winter with the snow storms and then this,” says Shannon Leguizamon of Ralphy’s Retreat Animal Sanctuary

Ralphy’s is a not-for-profit and will be holding a community work party on Saturday from 9 p.m. 5 p.m. Anyone wishing to help out can just show up. If you have a chain saw bring it too.