Barns destroyed, trees uprooted after storm near Mapleton

Heavy rain and damaging wind gusts ripped through an area east of Mapleton, a small hamlet just northwest of Aylmer on Belmont Road, on Saturday, July 18.

The destruction from the storm was evident along Mapleton Line east of the hamlet, with several trees uprooted or having branches snapped off, crops in fields blown over and power lines either leaning or fully taken down. Some structures, including barns, were destroyed as well.

Over 100 people in the storm damage area were reported to be without power, according to Hydro One’s outage map.

The storm, at its peak, was the subject of an orange-level severe thunderstorm warning from Environment Canada when it rolled through.

Lauren Damen, who resides with her family on Mapleton Line, was downstairs in the basement of her home at the time of the storm.

“Everything toppled over,” she said, referring to a now-destroyed playground slide and kids’ playhouse in her backyard. Some of the toys that were in the yard blew into nearby farm fields.

Ms. Damen’s yard was also littered with broken tree branches, varying in size. Nobody was hurt there.

Just south of Mapleton Line on Dorchester Road, Charlie Dance had his storage barn completely destroyed. The roof of the barn was thrown off of the structure, coming to rest just a short distance away, with the side walls toppled as well.

“The wind came up and it was furious,” said Mr. Dance. “I have never seen wind that strong here.”

Mr. Dance said he was inside of his home at the time and saw the damage about 10 minutes after the storm arrived, rushing outside to cut off the power to the barn. There was some property inside of the barn, including a work truck, which had its roof-mounted air conditioners damaged.

Mr. Dance, who is 73, said this is the first time he has seen a storm like this in the area. “I was born and raised here, I’ve never seen anything. But you hear things around the countryside of guys (receiving serious storm damage), I guess it was my turn,” he said.

Just over a week ago on July 9, another windstorm tore through our region, taking down four large power lines on Imperial Road, just north of College Line, knocking out power to more than 6,000 customers.

Mr. Dance said he is working with his insurance company to eventually have the destroyed barn rebuilt.

Neighbours and family have been around to support Mr. Dance in cleaning up the mess. “We live in a very good neighbourhood here, so I can’t complain on that,” he said.

Mapleton Line was closed while crews cleaned up debris and restored power safely.

Feature Photo: Charlie Dance stood in front of his now-destroyed barn at his property on Dorchester Road, just southeast of Mapleton on Saturday, July 18. The barn was destroyed by an intense windstorm that passed through the area late that afternoon. The roof of the barn flew off of the structure, coming to rest a short distance away. Mr. Dance, 73, was inside of his home when the storm passed and, a lifelong resident, said he had never seen such a strong storm pass through. (AE/Hayden King)

by Hayden King, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter