Walmart evacuations caused by lightning strike, fallen tree

Walmart customers at Garrison and Thompson roads were asked to leave the store on Wednesday morning after a sudden power outage cut electricity to several nearby businesses.

Canadian Niagara Power says the first outage began around 10 a.m. and affected about 760 customers. The incident briefly darkened much of the Smart Centres plaza, including Walmart and the LCBO, where staff evacuated shoppers for safety.

Kristine Carmichael, director of corporate and customer services for Canadian Niagara Power, told Fort Erie Radio in an email that the outage lasted only four minutes.

“The cause of the outage was due to a lightning strike,” she Carmichael. “This was not a planned outage.”

Brenda Tyrrell, co-host of Fort Erie Radio’s morning show, was inside Walmart when things turned dark.

“Everything was fine then suddenly the power went out and all customers were told to leave their carts and immediately exit the building,” said Tyrrell.

A second outage hit the same area later that afternoon at 4:22 p.m., lasting 32 minutes. Carmichael said that one was caused by a tree falling on the line.

Both outages were unplanned and power was restored to all customers later on Wednesday.

Walmart also had to evacuate its customers earlier this month when smoke created by a faulty freezer motor prompted a visit from the Fort Erie Fire Department.

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