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Wind storm wreaks havoc on power lines in Red Deer and central Alberta

May 24, 2017 | 5:21 PM

THURSDAY UPDATE [8:15 a.m.]

Jim Jorgensen, Manager – Electric, Light and Power for the City of Red Deer says power service in the city was fully-restored by around 1:15 a.m. 

Outside of any isolated reports that come in, Jorgensen says the focus today will be on the clean up of downed trees and branches.

Anyone still experiencing power-related issues in Red Deer can call 403-348-5700 to report it.

Here is a summary provided by the City of Red Deer of the major power outages that occurred as a result of the storm:

– Queens Industrial Park and Edgar Industrial Park due to a fallen tree near Highway 11A
– 67 Street at 58 Avenue near Fire Station 2 due to a broken power pole
– Ross Street at 43 Avenue due to a fallen tree
– 55 Street near 47 Avenue due to a fallen tree
– 47 Street east of 40 Avenue
– Glendale School area due to a broken power pole
– 60 Street at 54 Avenue due to a downed power line
– 58 Street at 43 Avenue
– 56 Street at 47A avenue due to a fallen tree

After power is restored, City officials encourage you to:
– Turn on essential appliances first and then others after 10 – 15 minutes
– Reset your thermostat
– Make sure your refrigerator and freezer are back on
– Reset your clocks, automatic timers and alarms
– Restock your emergency kit. To learn how to prepare a kit visit https://www.getprepared.gc.ca/cnt/rsrcs/vds/prprng-kt-en.aspx

THURSDAY UPDATE [7 a.m.]

Thousands of customers throughout central Alberta remain without power following Wednesday’s wicked wind storm.

Fortis Alberta crews continue working to restore service to nearly 6,000 customers. It’s expected that full service won’t be restored until around 4 p.m.

Wolf Creek Public Schools says Clive School and Crestomere School will be closed Thursday. Bus pickup for high schools students is running as per normal.

It’s been a hectic afternoon for crews in and around Red Deer as they work to restore electricity service disrupted by a wicked storm.

Jim Jorgensen, Manager – Electric, Light and Power for the City of Red Deer says things started getting crazy at around 4 p.m.

Jorgensen pinpoints four key events that had the largest effect on the city’s power grid:

– A tree that fell on a power line near Highway 11A knocked out power to much of Edgar Industrial Park and Queens Business Park. Jorgensen says crews were able to restore in those areas relative quickly.

– A broken power pole that came down along 67 Street near police/fire station at 58 Avenue; Crews continue to work through the dinner hour to clear up the area and restore service for a large number of affected customers.

– Lots of trees crashing onto power lines in other parts of the city, including at Ross Street and 43 Avenue and at 55 Street near 47 Avenue. Jorgensen says City staff are working to get those trees cleared up;

– Other isolated incidents where residents are reporting downed trees and branches; City staff are prioritizing and responding as they come in.

“The big message for people is if they see anything, trees on the line, power lines down, don’t go anywhere near them,” Jorgensen says. “Keep your distance and make sure you call us at 403-348-5700.”

Meantime, Fortis Alberta is working hard to restore power to customers left in the dark outside of the city.

Larger outages include Gasoline Alley where more than 1,000 customers are affected. Innisfail and area is also experiencing an outage affecting close to 3,400 customers. 

“We’re bringing in crews from other areas that aren’t affected to help out with trouble spots,” says Alana Antonelli, Media Relations with Fortis Alberta. “We’re out there and we’re getting things back as quickly as we can do so safely and just ask for people to take care from a safety perspective.”

Antonelli also advises motorists to stay away from downed power lines.

“We’re experiencing a number of lines down due to trees falling on the line, and a live wire is a life or death situation. If somebody comes across a line, stay at least 10 metres away and call 310-WIRE immediately,” she says.

Information is also available online through their outage map.

“If you run into a pole, stay in your vehicle until Fortis Alberta can come out and take care of the line,” Antonelli stresses. “Call emergency services or whatever you need to do there, but the main thing is do not get out of your vehicle around a line that is energized.”