Huron County prepares for 'extreme heat' event
Huron County’s decision makers have holed up in Clinton’s Libro Hall to simulate an emergency they hope never actually materializes.
“It’s part of their emergency preparedness and planning. We’ve decided to do one group, all together in one room, simulating a heat and power outage emergency,” said Chad Kregar, Huron County’s emergency manager.
Mayors, fire chiefs, public works, CAO’s, OPP, and paramedics from all nine Huron County municipalities are going through what a sustained heat emergency and subsequent power outages and storm damage could leave in their wake.
It’s an annual exercise mandated by Emergency Management Ontario.
“Every municipality needs to be prepared for any kind of event. Goderich had a tornado several years ago, and this helps our municipalities deal with and know our current critical infrastructure and how to respond in the event of an emergency,” said Huron County’s Health and Safety Manager Michaela Johnston.
Monday’s tabletop emergency exercise is a precursor to this weekend’s emergency exercise spanning Huron and Bruce County, involving the military.
Huron County emergency exercise in Clinton on April 29, 2024. (Scott Miller/CTV News London)
There will be 800 Canadian army reservists simulating fighting wildfires, search and rescues, and wellness checks across the two counties on May 3-5.
“It’s the same premise the military exercise is based on. It’s a heat event with power outages where the military might have to respond after a tornado and wildfires, where they’d be coming to assist municipalities with clearing brush, setting up water distribution, and cooling centres,” said Johnston.
‘Exercise Trillium Venture’ will be most evident on Saturday as the military mobilizes across Huron and Bruce County.
Monday’s exercise in Clinton is getting officials ready for that kind of disaster and what they’d be expected to do to keep people safe.
“That’s what they’re practicing today. Essentially it’s practice for a live event,” said Kregar.
“It can happen at any time to any community. It’s one thing to be prepared and know the steps to ask for help from other municipalities, and the province, if need be,” said Johnston.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Masters champion Scottie Scheffler arrested at PGA Championship for traffic violation
Masters champion Scottie Scheffler was arrested Friday morning on his way to the PGA Championship, with stunning images showing him handcuffed as he was taken to jail for not following police orders during a pedestrian fatality investigation.
NEW What a wildfire survivor says she regrets not grabbing before leaving home
Carol Christian had 15 minutes to evacuate her home during the Fort McMurray wildfires in 2016. She ended up losing the house and everything inside. Now, she wants to share the lessons she learned.
Four 1970s homicides linked to serial killer, Alberta Mounties to reveal Friday
A dead serial sexual offender and killer has been linked to four homicides in the 1970s in Alberta, RCMP say.
Ontario sees first measles death in more than a decade after young child dies
A young child has died of measles in Ontario, marking the first death in the province from the highly contagious virus in more than 10 years, a Public Health Ontario report confirms.
Think twice before sharing 'heartbreaking' social media posts, RCMP warn
Mounties in B.C. are urging people to think twice before sharing "heartbreaking posts" on social media.
One way Canadians are shrinking rising grocery bills
As the cost of food in Canada has risen, grocery shoppers are looking at ways to reduce their grocery bill, and more are choosing price over beauty, turning to companies that deliver so-called 'misfit' produce at a fraction of the cost.
'Another pair of eyes watching over me:' How a B.C. woman's guide dog saved her from drowning
A B.C. woman says her guide dog pulled her from a lake moments before she had a seizure, saving her life.
Vatican revamps norms to evaluate visions of Mary as it adapts to internet age and combats hoaxers
The Vatican on Friday radically reformed its process for evaluating alleged visions of the Virgin Mary, weeping statues and other seemingly supernatural phenomena, insisting on having the final say in whether the events are worthy of popular devotion.
Wildfires are dampening against cool, rainy weather, but there's plenty left to contain
An opportune system of cool, wet weather Friday is dampening the spread of wildfires across Western Canada, but there's still plenty of work for responders and residents alike.