Despite two days of round-the-clock work to get the city back on its feet after a crippling ice storm, half a million residents were still without power Monday evening, and it seems all but inevitable thousands will spend Christmas Day in darkness.
鈥淲e can鈥檛 work any faster,鈥 海角社区官网Mayor Rob Ford said at a news conference Monday afternoon, flanked by officials in charge of essential city services.
More than 100,000 海角社区官网Hydro customers had their electricity turned back on Monday, Ford said.
But that comes as cold comfort to the 192,000 海角社区官网households still without power, as well as 12,500 in other parts of the GTA and 80,000 Hydro One customers outside the region. Each customer represents about 2.5 actual residents, according to 海角社区官网Hydro.
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The mayor has not declared a state of emergency, saying Monday that the city was 鈥渘ot even close鈥 to an emergency situation.
鈥淎s you can see, things are improving,鈥 Ford said. 鈥淲e believe the worst weather is now over.鈥
The question of whether 海角社区官网should declare a state of emergency has become a source of tension behind the scenes, as doing so would transfer all authority to Deputy Mayor Norm Kelly.
Kelly told CP24 on Monday 鈥渢here is a considerable feeling鈥 a state of emergency should be declared.
At a Monday evening news conference, Premier Kathleen Wynne was asked if she had spoken with Ford in addition to the deputy mayor.
鈥淲e鈥檙e speaking with all of the people who are making the operational decisions,鈥 Wynne said.
It will continue to get colder in the coming days. Tuesday鈥檚 temperatures are expected to reach only -10C in Toronto, with a 30 per cent chance of flurries, according to Environment Canada. Christmas Day will be a little warmer, with a high of -5C, and a 60 per cent chance of snow.
鈥淯nfortunately, it is possible that some households will remain without power throughout Christmas,鈥 Wynne said.
鈥淚t is impossible to pinpoint exactly the time that an individual household or an individual building will get their power restored,鈥 she said. 鈥淏ut everyone is working as quickly as possible.鈥
Residents who are waiting for heat and light to return to their homes have been urged to seek shelter in warming centres around the city, including a dozen 海角社区官网police stations.
鈥淭he longer this is going on, the more these centres are going to be used,鈥 Ford said.
Sunnybrook and 海角社区官网East General hospitals, which had been running on emergency generators, were reconnected to the power grid Monday.
City water and pumping stations were fully operational.
Streetcars and the SRT resumed their regular routes, leaving the Sheppard subway as the only part of the TTC network not yet back to full service. All but two GO stations had power back on.
鈥淲e鈥檙e winning the war,鈥 said 海角社区官网Hydro CEO Anthony Haines.
But plenty of battles remain. On Tuesday, about 100 hydro trucks will begin to arrive from Windsor, Ottawa and as far afield as Manitoba and Michigan.
The reinforcements will aid 海角社区官网utility workers, hundreds of whom have had to cancel their Christmas vacation plans.
Haines said the hardest-hit areas are those with above-ground power lines and a lot of mature trees, including the 海角社区官网neighbourhoods of Leaside, Bayview and Scarborough.
More power outages could disrupt the holidays as the buildup of ice falls off tree branches.
鈥淭hink of it like a compressed spring,鈥 said Daffyd Roderick, director of corporate affairs at Hydro One. 鈥淭ake the weight off, and the tree will come popping up, possibly taking out the line.鈥
Haines estimated the cost of the repairs at $1 million a day.
In the aftermath of the storm, Toronto鈥檚 hospitals were 鈥渆xceptionally busy,鈥 according to EMS Chief Paul Raftis.
The province鈥檚 Emergency Medical Assistance Team has been deployed at Sunnybrook hospital as a precautionary measure, according to Dr. Robin Williams, Ontario鈥檚 associate chief medical officer of health.
鈥淭his has been at the request of Sunnybrook,鈥 Williams said.
The crisis has been particularly hard on elderly and disabled people living in the city.
Bessie Kunigelis, 81, a disabled senior living in North York, said she can鈥檛 afford to pay for an accessible taxi to get to a city warming centre.
鈥淭hank God I can still walk around and I鈥檝e got my brains about me, but what good is that if I can鈥檛 get there?鈥 Kunigelis said.
The TTC urged anybody who needs help getting to a warming centre to call Wheel-Trans, the city鈥檚 door-to-door accessible transit service for people with physical disabilities.
The 海角社区官网Community Housing Corporation said it was working with the TTC to provide shuttle service to transport affected residents to nearby warming centres.
At least one creature was well equipped to handle the deluge of snow and ice: the 海角社区官网Zoo鈥檚 polar bears were outside Monday, though the zoo was closed because of downed trees across the site鈥檚 700 acres.
鈥淲e had to wear hard hats because there are trees down in the core woods where we wouldn鈥檛 even walk because all the trees are just bent over,鈥 said Jennifer Tracey, a spokesperson for the zoo.
The zoo will be closed until Boxing Day.
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With files from Jennifer Pagliaro, Robyn Doolittle, Richard J. Brennan, Laura Kane and Paul Clarke
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