Tag: Humber River

Marc Chrus has hustle

I find it hard to get my butt out of bed by 10, and I’m lucky if I can get an hour of work in before the quarantined kids get me day drinking.

I am not Marc Chrus. That guy has got hustle.

Courtesy Marc Chrus

Last week, Chrus and his team from We Haul decided to clean up the Humber Valley. Just for a lark.

In a week, they gathered up 3850 kgs of waste—about 35 cubic yards! 25,000 litres!—from the embankment near Eglinton.

Chrus  says they’d like to make the cleanup an annual event and get more volunteers (when the pandemic is over, of course).

 

 
 
 
 
 
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Man pulled from Humber today

According to Toronto Police, a 75 year-old man was pulled from the Humber River near Hickory Tree and Lawrence this morning. The rescue was made using a pole to lift the man up to the riverbank. Efforts to revive him were made at the scene and he was transported to hospital in life-threatening condition. It is not yet known how the man entered the water. Read more here.

Humber rises overnight

The Humber river is breaking its banks in several places this morning after a record rainfall for the 11th January. The previous highest rainfall, 22.6 mm fell in 1960. Yesterday’s rainfall for the day was 59.0 mm which for those who still think imperially is 2.3 inches. Unusually for January all the day’s precipitation was rainfall. Because the ground was frozen and unable to absorb the water, it was drained into the Humber, causing the current high levels. Incidentally, the water was still rising at 11:30 this morning. Let’s hope none of our readers were affected negatively by this rain.

Here are a few shots taken along the Humber this morning. I couldn’t venture far into Cruickshank Park as the path was completely flooded. As always, click to enlarge the images.

 

The power of the current is evident from this shot just north of the Lawrence Avenue bridge.

Looking from the Raymore Park footbridge, the old footbridge abutment (centre) is completely covered – a very rare event.

The Humber showing the old bridge abutment in September 2016.

The bike path near the York Weston Tennis Club.

 

The bike path near the York Weston Tennis Club.

Looking downriver from the tennis courts.

Alongside the tennis courts, the water has come quite close.

 

The bike path south of the Lawrence Avenue bridge.

 

North of the Lawrence Avenue Bridge, looking towards Cruickshank Park.

 

No access to Cruickshank Park from the southern end.

 

A closer view of the southern entrance to Cruickshank Park.

Update: Hans Havermann sent a link to his blog showing the high water in Raymore Park.

Today in Weston. January 13, 2018

Ice floes litter the ground in Raymore Park today after Thursday’s rain prompted a break-up of the ice covering the Humber. The river is at the base of the retaining wall on the left of the picture. Click to enlarge.

Almost every year, a warm spell causes the Humber’s banks to flood causing a  break-up of ice covering the river. As the ice breaks up it blocks the flow of water and behind the dynamically forming dam, large chunks float over the now widened river and are stranded there as each section of the ice-dam gives way and the water recedes. It’s a fairly rapid process that’s hard to catch but you certainly don’t want to be in the path of these monsters as they float up to 50 metres from shore.

Floating chunks of ice have destroyed fencing around the sewer re-lining work just north of the weir. Click to enlarge.

Hans Havermann has some excellent images from both sides of the river, taken yesterday while it was still blocked.