Intense thunderstorms cause damage in & around the GTA
Posted July 26, 2012 5:27 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
An intense thunderstorm rolled through the GTA overnight, bringing a spectacular show of lightning and much-needed rain. The system also caused damage, including two separate fires in Brampton that forced 18 people out of six homes.
Lightning strikes are believed to have hit in at least five spots in and around the GTA.
Firefighters were called to a home on Spadina Road, near Bovaird Drive and McLaughlin Road in Brampton, around 11:30 p.m. Wednesday where flames erupted, after a lightning strike. Four houses were damaged in that blaze. Another fire on Brampton’s Amsterdam Crescent left two homes damaged.
No injuries were reported.
Firefighters were called to another home on Amalfi Court, near Highway 7 and Martin Grove Road in Vaughan, around 3 a.m. Thursday for another blaze apparently caused by lightning.
And lightning caused some significant damage to a home on Oriole Road, near Holland Landing Road and Bathurst Street, in East Gwillimbury, where a strike hit a tree in the front yard around 2:30 a.m. The lightning exploded into the roots of the tree, digging out a trench and threw asphalt onto the roof of the house. A window was also broken.
The residents weren’t hurt.
Meanwhile, firefighters were called out to douse a blaze at a banquet hall in Georgina, also believed to have been sparked by lightning. The flames started around 2 a.m. at the hall on Smith Boulevard. The fire wasn’t declared under control until around 6 a.m.
The building in the hamlet of Egypt, which is one of the few banquet halls in northern York Region, was gutted. The hall was built by 44 area families in 1988-89.
“The families supplied the materials and the families supplied the labour and it’s been our community hall ever since,” Georgina councillor Brad Smockum told CityNews.
The hall was fully booked for the summer, including for weddings.
“We’re lucky, the wedding that was in this weekend got cancelled out so we have nothing this weekend, but starting next Friday we’re booked … right through until Christmas,” Smockum said, adding there are already plans to rebuild.
“We will rebuild it as quickly as we can.”
Flooding, meanwhile, prompted GO Transit to close part of its Richmond Hill train line, forcing some riders to find an alternate route.
Heavy rain also caused problems in York Region where firefighters had to rescue people stranded in their vehicles due to flooding at Bowes and Rivermede roads, near Keele Street and Highway 7. The water had receded by 5:30 a.m.
Flooding also closed Bayview Avenue between Gerrard and Front Streets on Thursday morning.
More thunderstorms are in store for Thursday. Check the latest forecast here.
