When the Ice Came Down.
After an ice storm left Maryann Crosbie’s home damaged and her neighborhood in chaos, Team Rubicon Canada Greyshirts stepped in to help clear the path to recovery
Maryann Crosbie couldn’t sleep through the noise.
It was late March 2025, and freezing rain had been falling across Ontario all night. Inside her Orillia home, Crosbie listened to the sounds outside—cracking, then bang, over and over, she described. The weight of ice was breaking branches, and she worried that a large tree near her house wouldn’t hold.
“The sound was horrifying,” Crosbie recalled. “I was worried this big tree would come down on my house, so I slept all night in my living room on my couch.”
“It sounded like a war zone,” she continued. “Trees and branches were falling everywhere, and you never knew where they were going to come down.”
At 4 a.m., her fears became reality when a loud bang jolted her awake. The tree had fallen, landing on her roof and damaging her car in the driveway.
A Community in Crisis
Crosbie wasn’t alone. Across Orillia and Simcoe County, the ice storm that began on March 28 wreaked havoc. The weight of the ice snapped branches and toppled entire trees onto power lines, roads, and homes. By the morning of March 30, more than one million people across Ontario had lost power, with areas to the north and east of the Greater Toronto Area being particularly hard hit.
The City of Orillia declared a state of emergency that same day, which would remain in effect for 10 days as the community worked to respond and recover. Parks and trails sustained significant damage; roads became impassable. And for Crosbie, the lights went out and stayed out.
“I lost power that night, and it was out for five days,” she shared. “I had to stay with my mother who had a generator.”
For many seniors and vulnerable residents, the storm created impossible challenges. The damage would eventually cause an estimated $342 million in insured losses across the affected regions, but the financial toll was just one measure of the storm’s impact. For homeowners like Crosbie, surrounded by fallen trees and debris, there was no safe way forward.
Crosbie knew she couldn’t clear the mess on her own.
“I can’t move the trees or branches,” she explained. When the City of Orillia provided her with Team Rubicon Canada’s contact information, she called right away.
“Team Rubicon Canada is amazing,” Crosbie said. “Just to help people, like seniors like me who can’t clean up the mess. I want more people to know about them.”
Greyshirts Answer the Call
Within days, Team Rubicon Canada volunteers arrived. Dakota Walker, part of the team, came to survey the damage and quickly assessed what needed to be done.
“When we arrive on scene, we’re looking at how we can make the biggest impact for the people who need it most,” Walker said. “That’s what drives us as Greyshirts—knowing we can step in when someone like Maryann is facing something they simply can’t handle alone.”
The team worked steadily, using their training as sawyers, clearing the fallen tree from her roof, removing branches, and hauling away debris. For Walker and others on the team, the work is about more than just chainsaws and cleanup.
“A lot of us are veterans or first responders, and we’re used to serving something bigger than ourselves,” he said. “With Team Rubicon Canada, we get to keep doing that. We show up, we do the hard work, and we help our neighbors get back on their feet. There’s no better feeling than that.”
The job was extensive, but the Greyshirts worked methodically to make Maryann’s property safe again so she could have a good night’s sleep again in her own bed.
“It was overwhelming, and a huge mess,” Crosbie said. “But these are people who work hard to help get back on my feet again.”
Recovery and Resilience
By April 4, Crosbie’s power was restored. Across the province, recovery efforts continued with hydro crews working around the clock to reconnect homes. Other organizaions as part of Ontario’s volunteer corps worked together to support residents still in need. And Team Rubicon Canada, part of Ontario Corps, cleared properties throughout the region, one homeowner at a time.
The storm left its mark on Orillia—in damaged homes, fallen trees, and a community tested by nature’s power, but it also revealed something else: the strength that emerges when neighbors refuse to let each other face disaster alone.
“I’ve never had a night like that,” Crosbie reflected. “But I’m fortunate. Others in my neighborhood were struggling too.”
For Crosbie, the arrival of Team Rubicon Canada and Greyshirts meant more than just a cleared yard. It meant hope, help, and the knowledge that even on the worst days, someone was there for her.
Disasters don’t wait—and neither does Team Rubicon Canada. We’re building teams of trained volunteers across the country, ready to respond when the next storm hits. Whether you’re a veteran, first responder, or someone who simply wants to serve your community, there’s a place for you wearing a grey shirt. To learn more about Team Rubicon Canada, how to volunteer, or how to support our mission, visit teamrubicon.ca.