‘The bees are angry’: Police warn residents after beehives fall off truck in Burlington

People in Burlington are being advised to keep their windows closed after a truck lost a load of bees on Wednesday morning.

Halton police say five million bees were on the loose after a truck transporting beehives dropped a bunch of them on Guelph Line north of Dundas Street around 6:15 a.m.

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” says Halton police Const. Ryan Anderson.

“It’s hard to avoid using the bee puns, but it is quite serious. We’ve had some of the people trying to clean up get stung quite a bit.”

People in passing vehicles and residents who live in the area were being asked to close their windows. Pedestrians are being asked to avoid the area for the time being.

**UPDATE**
Thanks to the overwhelming response from beekeepers coming to help we expect the scene to be clear in approx. 30 mins.
The majority of the bees have been safely collected and crates will be hauled away. https://t.co/rCT0Hyyt4U

— Halton Police (@HaltonPolice) August 30, 2023

Police said they expected the cleanup to wrap up by 10 a.m. thanks to an “overwhelming response” from beekeepers. Officers will be leaving some crates behind for leftover bees to naturally return to.

“We continue to ask pedestrians to avoid the area and that residents do not approach or touch the crates being left behind for the bees,” reads a tweet from Halton police. “They will be collected once the bees have returned.”

CityNews 680 traffic reporter Jordan Kerr was over the scene in a chopper around 8:30 a.m. and reported seeing beekeepers picking up boxes of hives as the insects swarmed all over the roadway.

“I don’t how long it’s going to take to corral all these bees, but it could be awhile,” says Kerr. “The bees are angry, I’ve seen a couple of beekeepers get stung.”

Guelph Line was closed in both directions between Dundas and 1st Sideroad but roads have since reopened.