Summer storm recovery sees shift from tree protection plan

September 18, 2026 · 0 Comments

A municipal program treating local ash trees against the invasive Emerald Ash Borer beetle is set to move to the backburner as the Town focuses on recovery following a July microburst that caused extensive damage in Aurora’s northwest.

In a report received by Council at last week’s Committee of the Whole meeting, Matthew Volpintesta, Aurora’s Manager of Parks and Fleet, said ash trees accounted for 52 per cent of the total street tree population felled in the storm. The program to treat the trees against the beetles has been “paused” for the remainder of the year until a fulsome review of its progress can take place by early 2027.

“The storm on July 3, 2026, at approximately 2.45 p.m. was a brief, but intense, storm cell impacting residential properties, private institutional properties, and most significantly, Town-owned boulevards and parkland,” said Volpintesta in his report to Council. “Aurora’s urban forest was severely impacted with hundreds of trees sustaining major damage. Damage to power infrastructure and public utility was also significant.”

The report said the municipal response to the storm was “swift” among staff and contractors alike, joining first responders in ensuring “immediate hazards were mitigated and emergency vehicles could easily access the affected areas.”

“As the hours passed, it became clear that the storm had impacted hundreds of trees within a very localized area both on public and private lands; however, the full extent would not be known for days,” said Volpintesta. “Damage ranged from broken tree limbs to complete tree failure with significant sized trees entirely uprooted. The Town’s communications teams were quick to provide essential information through coordinated update on storms and response efforts.

“Recovery efforts during the first couple of weeks were complicated by the widespread impact to both municipal and private trees, requiring coordination between Town crews, contractors, and property owners. Adding to the complexity of the response were the numerous private arborists and insurance contractors working to remove the non-municipal trees that had fallen on private property, making for a somewhat chaotic scene.”

The report notes that the Lakeview/Willow Farm trail system and adjacent areas in the southwest quadrant of Yonge Street and St. John’s Sideroad was the most heavily impacted location within Aurora, with a full assessment taking place in the last week of July.

“The Town received 236 resident reports related to storm damage,” the report continues. “Approximately 107 municipal trees along public boulevards were completely lost and will require replacing, while many others required level 1 or 2 tree risk assessments to determine whether they could be safely retained through pruning. Staff estimate approximately 1,000-plus trees ranging in size were lost within parks, trails, and woodlots. It was not only Town lands that suffered canopy loss, but many residential properties were also significantly impacted with some losing more than half of the trees on private property and others losing almost all trees. Due to the size of the lots within the impact zone of the storm, a couple of these residential properties lost upwards of 30 trees. Staff estimate over 100 trees on private residential lands failed or were uprooted requiring removal.”

Volpintesta’s report states the road to full recovery is “extensive and will take several years to fully re-stablish the loss within the urban tree canopy.” Replanting efforts in parklands will begin in 2028, he notes.

As Council reviewed the report at the Committee level last week, they said the storm was a big hit to the Town’s tree canopy, with Sara Tienkamp, Aurora’s Director of Operational Services, stating it could take between 30 and 50 years to regain the canopy cover and carbon sink properties the lost trees brought to the community.

“It’s really sad to hear all that because [the age of the trees] really does matter,” said Ward 2 Councillor Rachel Gilliland. “I’m just glad at least we have this report in place and we have a strategy so at least we can make some improvements.”

Councillor Gilliland also welcomed the update on the Emerald Ash Borer, and Tienkamp said the storm was an “eye-opener” that the course of treatment being followed by the Town wasn’t “as viable or successful as we would have hoped.”

Funding otherwise allocated to treatment, she added, could now be redirected to recovery and replanting.

“It’s going to be quite an impact on this year’s budget and allow us the time to really do some investigation, some analysis on treatments, and reach out to some of our peers and see whether it’s maybe time to turn our heads to maybe a replacement program,” said Tienkamp. “Maybe it’s a removal and replacement program and we look towards other species that are going to be more viable because these trees have been structurally impacted by the Borer. It eats into the heartwood, the integrity of the tree does start to degrade, and I think that’s what we saw in this storm.”

Pausing the Emerald Ash Borer treatments will free up municipal funds to focus on replanting, but Mayor Tom Mrakas and staff alike indicated there would soon be further funding available to aid in the effort, while Ward 3 Councillor Wendy Gaertner said situations like these were exactly why the Town has a Tax Rate Stabilization Reserve – to mitigate recovery in the here and now without impacting the cost to taxpayers.

“It came in quick, it finished quick, but what it left behind was absolutely destructive,” said Mayor Mrakas. “I remember leaving my house and…you couldn’t even drive through the neighbourhood. You had to get out and walk and everyone was walking and we were all talking and the crews were on site immediately. It was incredible to see everyone get out there. Everyone was pitching in. Everyone was helping. I want to thank the entire team for all the work that they did, and I can tell you all the residents in the area appreciate the work that they did as well.”

By Brock Weir
Editor
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter