Alectra warns customers to stay back from wires after Hamilton man electrocuted

Alectra Utilities is warning people to be vigilant around power lines after a Hamilton man was electrocuted in the wake of Friday's powerful windstorm.

Police were first called to the area of Main Street East and West Avenue South around 7 p.m., and found a man in his 50s who was unconscious in the roadway after coming into contact with live wires.

"Witnesses advised that the male attempted to clear the wires from the roadway which resulted in his injuries," police said in a news release. The man's name has not been released.

Alectra spokesperson Sandy Dorschu told CBC News that whenever downed wires are involved, people should keep back at least 10 metres and call 911.

"No one should ever assume that a down wire is dead," she said. "You should always take the precaution that it's live."

Friday's fierce storm brought down trees, blew shingles off roofs and scattered debris across both Ontario and Quebec. Gusts nearing 120 km/h knocked down trees and caused widespread property damage.

Two other men who had been servicing trees in Milton, Ont. were killed when a falling tree struck them.

Traffic was also snarled through much of downtown Hamilton Friday evening, as siding blew off a business on King Street and forced the closure of the main thoroughfare. High winds also forced the closure of the Burlington Skyway.

At the peak of the storm, about 100,000 of Alectra's customers were without power, Dorschu said.

As of early Sunday afternoon,about 300 people in Hamilton werestill without electricity, she said. Crews are still completing smaller service calls for outages.

"Our crews will be working throughout the day and throughout the night if they need to," she said.

Burlington resident Irfan Saleemi told CBC News he has been without power since Friday at 3 p.m.

"Compared to what other people in the rest of the world go through, it's not a big deal," he said."We can manage it. The problem is there are people, elderly folks, who are out there all by themselves."