(City of Lethbridge/Twitter)

By Tiffany Goodwein

Lethbridge lending a hand to help Medicine Hat after storm

Jul 21, 2022 | 10:55 AM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – Lethbridge and Medicine Hat may have a friendly rivalry, but when emergency strikes, the two cities come together.

After the windstorm knocked out power to thousands of residents in Medicine Hat, Cypress County and Redcliff on Monday, crews in Lethbridge received a call from electric utilities in Medicine Hat asking for help.

Lethbridge was quick to answer the call. The city sent a crew of five people and four vehicles over to Medicine Hat to help them restore the electrical grid.

The team from Lethbridge anticipates that will be in southeastern Alberta region for a week helping out, according to a news release from the City of Lethbridge.

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“This was a pretty devastating event in terms of electric infrastructure,” says Gary Smith, electric operations distribution manager for the City of Lethbridge. “They worked well into the evening Tuesday night and got great praise about how much they accomplished and got restored. Our crew restored and rebuilt blocks of power lines to get them back up and running.”

City manager Lloyd Brierley said the move to lend a hand by the electric utility department shows the true spirit of what it means to be in public service.

“Part of the call to work in public service is wanting to help your community and those around you,” said Brierley. “I am proud to see our crews offer their skill and expertise to the City of Medicine Hat.”

Mayor Blaine Hyggen said he is grateful to see the partnership between the two cities and hopes to see more collaboration in the future in a range of issues of importance.

“On behalf of Lethbridge City Council, I’m very pleased and thankful that some of our electrical staff have been able to significantly help our friends in Medicine Hat in recovering from Monday’s awful storm,” said Hyggen.