Fort Erie town crystallized in ice after winter storm hits Ontario

Crystal Beach has been crystallized.

The small lakefront community in Fort Erie was enveloped in thick ice as a direct result of a winter storm that hit southern Ontario just before Christmas.

Thousands of Canadians woke up in the dark on Christmas Day as power outages caused by brutal winter conditions persisted across Ontario. A state of emergency was in place across southern Ontario’s Niagara Region as crews grappled with impassable roads and wildly blowing snow.

Don, a resident of the lakefront community for 18 years, tells CityNews the strong winds caused huge waves that raised concern among neighbouring locals.

“When the storm started on Friday, the waves were so heavy that they were coming over the wall,” Don said. “[They] went back to the street and were flooding the street to about two feet high.”

Crystal Beach in Fort Erie, Ontario. Photo: Leah Johansen/CityNews.

Damaging winds drawing water from Lake Erie coated the homes in a thick layer of ice. The visuals, perhaps stunning for onlookers, but homeowners could soon face serious issues, including significant deterioration and flooding.

“It’s beautiful, looking at this. I have to say that for it,” Don added. “Unfortunately, though, it causes a lot of damage.”

On Christmas morning, Canadian Niagara Power said there had been “widespread” outages throughout Fort Erie and Port Colborne and that approximately 14,000 customers were without power on Sunday morning and 9,600 customers without power as of 4 p.m.

RELATED: Thousands of Canadians still in the dark days after fierce storms knocked out power

Fort Erie fire chief Mark Schmitt says while the crystallized form of the ice is indeed beautiful, more people have arrived to take photos of the homes and shoreline, which is a considerable safety risk.

“Particularly in the waterfront areas we have a lot of ice buildup and it causes a hazard for them to be here but it also causes a hazard for my staff to come out here and try to rescue them,” Schmitt told CityNews. 

“I am here to tell them the park is closed, and they’re trespassing. I get it, there are beautiful formations, but it’s extremely dangerous. There are enough [photos] on social media and the newscasts that you can see them just as well from there as you can from here.”

With temperatures in Toronto and other parts of southern Ontario forecast to see a double-digit increase within the span of a week, it’s raising more concerns about the potential for flooding.

Ryan Kitchen, a water technician with the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority, said communities near Lake Erie, such as Wainfleet, Port Colbourne and Fort Erie, could be most impacted in the coming days.

“[Those areas] got hit pretty hard with snow and lakeshore flooding due to storm surge,” he said, adding water came over shore walls and freezing spray froze in place.

“With the warmer temperatures coming and the precipitation forecast, there is a risk for flooding. At this time, we’re assessing the risk.”

Like Schmitt, Kitchen urged residents to stay away from the shoreline for now.

With files from CityNews’ Nick Westoll