The city of Toronto has issued an extreme cold weather alert today. Basically this activates support services to get homeless people indoors. An alert is called when Environment Canada predicts a temperature of -15 degrees Celius or lower without a windchill. With the windchill this morning, the temperature is -26 Degrees Celsius. Lampton County (way west of Toronto) has declared a state of emergency as a snow storm left hundreds stranded on roads. "Police say about 360 people were left waiting for rescuers on Hwy. 402 in Lambton County after heavy snowfall reduced visibility to zero. Rescue efforts were hindered by the blizzardlike conditions and police urged motorists to stay in their cars and pool resources as they waited for rescuers to reach them. Provincial Police Const. Chrystal Jones said that plows were pulled off the roads midday Monday because of reduced visibility. "We have snowmobiles assisting us, both volunteers and also OPP snowmobiles that have been travelling Hwy. 402 speaking with people who are stranded and in some cases getting them to emergency shelters," said Const. Jones. A couple of minor collisions have been reported along the stretch of highway. The OPP have estimated that over 360 vehicles were stuck on the highway between Sarnia and County Road 22, about 30 kilometres east of the city. The Emergency Management Ontario issued a Red Alert for the area from Sarnia to London. Lambton County Warden Steve Arnold declared the state of emergency at 9:45 p.m., encouraging motorists to avoid all possible travel and listen to local radio stations CHOK AM1070, FM 106.3 or FM 99.9 to get the latest rescue updates. The state of emergency allows officials to ask that Ottawa send help and the military, if necessary. Other areas in Ontario were also affected by the weather. Parts of Highways 6, 9, 10, 21 and 26 were closed Tuesday night due to bad driving conditions in those areas." Toronto Star ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This photo was taken yesterday when many reports were made of black ice everywhere. My commute to work is usually 15-20 minutes but it took me 1 hour and 45 minutes to reach work that day. It's a good thing I left 2 hours early :)! I still had 15 minutes that I used to get me a Tim Hortons' coffee :)! Hope everyone has a great week!

Photo courtesy of Missouri City New Asst. Fire Chief Paige Day "brings considerable knowledge and experience" to the City. Missouri City Fire & Rescue Service is adding extensive leadership, government and emergency management experience to the department with the addition of Assistant Chief Paige Day. In her new role, Day is in charge of operations and training, and is the direct supervisor for the Battalion Chiefs. She began her career as a firefighter and Emergency Medical Technician in 1998 with the Golder Ranch Fire District in Tucson, Arizona. Her exemplary performance led to numerous promotions: paramedic in 2001, Lieutenant in 2003, Captain in 2005 and Community Service Director and Public Information Officer in 2006. In 2007, Day accepted a position with the federal government as a Hazard Mitigation Specialist and worked closely with an American Indian tribal nation in Arizona. Before joining Missouri City, Day served as Fire Battalion Chief with the fire department for Raytheon Company in Tucson; a position she had held since 2008. Day has a Master's Degree in Fire Service Administration from Grand Canyon University and is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in education and leadership studies there. She and her husband, Mark, have two sons and a daughter. Fire Chief Russell Sander introduced Paige to City Council Members at their Oct. 17 meeting. He said she "will fit well into our organization. She brings considerable knowledge and experience to the department that adds value and will help us reach our established goals as well as reach new goals to provide the best service for our residents." Recently, Day spent time visiting with residents during the October National Night Out block parties across the City. She was enthusiastic about the response firefighters received from residents. "I was overwhelmed with the level of community support I experienced during my participation in the annual block parties," she said. "It was wonderful that the Fire and Rescue Service was so warmly welcomed at the events, and I am excited to continue my career here."