CLEAR CREEK, ONT. -- A weekend storm that caused extensive flooding to areas including Port Dover and Turkey Point also impacted centres to their west.
Damage was reported in Port Stanley and Port Bruce, with heavy winds punishing the lakeshore.
In Port Burwell, the rising water covered the pier and much of the beach Sunday night.
By Monday morning, with the lake still raging, residents Gail Sheppard and Chris Peters were out surveying the aftermath.
Gail Sheppard and Chris Peters in Port Burwell, Ont. on Monday, Nov. 16, 2020. (Sean Irvine / CTV News)
Peters says he was surprised some had decided to do the same at the height of the storm.
“Strangely enough, people flock to the beach, just like it was an 80 degree summer day, just to see how bad it gets.”
Sheppard stated their was “no way” she was coming down to look Sunday night.
“It was pretty scary. The winds were so high and so loud that it was shaking the front of our house.”
While rough waters continued into the morning, much of the damage was from high winds.
Trees and power lines were knocked down over a wide area between Port Burwell and Clear Creek along Lakeshore Road.
By 9:30 a.m. Adam Waite, a cable and internet line repairperson, stated he’d fixed five sites alone in Port Burwell, with “many” more to go.
Crews, including Eastlink's Adam Waite, work to restore power in Port Burwell, Ont. on Monday, Nov. 16, 2020 following the weekend storm. (Sean Irvine / CTV London)
Just to the west of Port Burwell, on Teall Nevill Road, a half-dozen Hydro One trucks were parked as crews worked to string new power lines and poles, both snapped by the high-winds.
Hydro One crews work to clear debris and repair lines near Port Burwell, Ont. on Monday, Nov. 16, 2020. (Sean Irvine / CTV News)
Westward, at the intersection of Country Road 28 and Lakeshore resident, Bill Geekie, could not leave his home by car.
His driveway remains covered by power lines, while trees are knocked down all over his, and his neighbours property.
“The wind was unbelievable! I could barely stand-up.”
Bill Geekie stands at a road closed sign near his home impacted by high winds on Lakeshore Drive near Port Burwell, Ont. on Monday, Nov. 16, 2020. (Sean Irvine / CTV News)
Just a few kilometres west of the Geekie property another large tree fell straight towards a home. It was within inches of causing damage.
Summing up the scene around him Geekie tried to keep the storm in perspective, agreeing Mother Nature is powerful force, and stating to CTV News, that if you want to live near the water you have to take the good with the bad.
“So, you want to live out here in the country and enjoy the fresh air and sunshine, well, you’ve got to put up with the wind, the rain, and everything else that goes along with it."
