Clean-up underway after powerful storm

“First of all we do watch radar and satellite to see what kind of storm it is and if there’s rotation in the storm and that can give us a really good indication as to whether it’s a tornadic storm or whether it’s more of a plow wind storm. With tornadoes, you’ll have a signature or a circulation and convergence whereas a plow wind you’ll see the signature kind of spreading out and away from the storm.”

Cypress County says several properties including at least two homes near Holsom Road were destroyed.

The high winds and rain also caused widespread damage in Redcliff. Several streets were flooded and there are downed trees and branches all over town.

Volunteers were being asked to come out to the Riverview Golf Course this morning to assist with clean-up.

Environment Canada has not determined if a team will be sent to investigate the damage on the ground here.

Meantime, work resumed early Tuesday morning to restore power to customers in the City of Medicine Hat, Redcliff and Cypress County.

About 8,000 customers were impacted by outages, less than the massive storm that hit in October 2017.

Director of emergency management Merrick Brown says while this storm didn’t impact as many customers, the damage is more significant.

“In 2017 the majority of damage was actually in what we call distribution lines, so smaller lines that are easier to fix. The damage for this event would have been the transmission system and so those are much larger lines, carry the heavier infrastructure, heavier electric load and so to be able to repair those is much more extensive.”

One of the damaged lines supplies power to a feedlot across the South Saskatchewan River from the Ranchlands neighbourhood. Brown says it snapped in half, and part of the cable is now submerged in the water and poses a danger to recreational boating.

Brown says it is “a significantly heavy line and so it’s not just a matter of being able to pull it out, we need equipment in there to be able to properly do it and so the real risk to public safety on that one is the actual line itself so it’s not the actual electricity associated with it. It’s the line potentially that a boat or something like that could actually come into contact with so not necessarily the electricity but just a heavy line.”

In an update from the city released around 10:45 a.m. officials confirmed that Strathcona Pool is open and swim lessons are running as usual.

Hill Pool and Echo Dale Swim Lake are closed and those registered in lessons will be contacted directly.

The following areas remain without power:
* 1,737 customers in the Airport, Hospital and Hill areas
* 45 customers in Redcliff
* 75 customers in rural southwest (near Echo Dale/Holsom Road)
* 9 customers in the rural area north of Medicine Hat

The city notes that even if power has been restored to a main electricity feeder, individual customers may have damaged private infrastructure preventing power restoration. Please view the web link for more information.

Box Springs Road and Broadway Avenue NW remain closed due to downed lines. Please follow detours and respect personnel.

With the continuing high temperatures, if you need a place to cool off , consider visiting Esplanade Arts & Heritage Centre, Big Marble Go Centre, Veiner Centre, Medicine Hat Public Library or Medicine Hat Mall.

by Regan Tate

Clean-up underway after powerful storm

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