International firefighters head home after helping battle Sask. wildfires
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CBC
31 minutes ago
- CBC
Trail of destruction in Brooks, Alta., after golf ball-sized hailstorm rips through
What started as a warm, sunny day in Brooks, Alta., on Wednesday quickly took a turn when a nasty hailstorm ripped through, crumpling and knocking over power lines and damaging cars, homes and crops. "All of a sudden, the winds came up, and it came in quick," said Brooks Mayor John Petrie. He said he watched from inside his house as "golf ball-sized" hail rained down, shredding leaves and perforating the siding on some of his neighbours' homes in the city that's about 160 kilometres southeast of Calgary. Colleen Foisy said the hail sounded like gunshots as it hit her home in Brooks, calling the storm unlike anything she has seen in the 18 years she has lived there. "The whole front of the house is destroyed," said Foisy. "The front fence actually got ripped off of the cemented posts. My flowers in my garden got thrown around, branches from the trees. There's hail damage all over my truck that's only a year old. The cover to my boat got shredded." Images show some transmission towers near the city bent over by the storm, and others flattened to the ground. Fortis Alberta said crews returned to work at first light Thursday to assess damage and work on repairs. Roughly 1,000 customers were listed as still without power on the company's website as of Thursday morning. Environment Canada said a " fast-moving supercell tracked across southern Alberta bringing significant, damaging wind gusts and loonie- to golf ball-sized hail." The department estimated peak wind gusts of 113 km/h in Brooks. Highway 1 eastbound near Brooks remained closed Thursday with a detour via Highway 36, according to Alberta 511, with one lane open westbound on Highway 1. Truck picked up, spun around by storm Coleman Waddell was driving home to Brooks trying to beat the storm when he found himself right in the middle of it just after 5 p.m. Wednesday in the area of Highway 1 and Highway 36 in Newell County. "I was driving north, and all of a sudden the wind picked up, threw my truck around, and I was facing south," said Waddell. He said hail had already blown out the windows on the driver's side of his truck when he drove into a ditch for cover, then hail smashed open the windows on the passenger side. He got out and lay down beside the truck, holding onto its running board as the storm passed, anxiously fearing his truck could flip over onto him. "Felt like an hour, but was probably only 15 minutes," said Waddell, who was left with bruises from the ordeal. He said while he was worried for his own safety, he was more worried for his wife, who was driving about three minutes ahead of him. But she arrived home safely, with no hail damage at all to her vehicle. 2 animals killed at fun farm The hailstorm knocked down fences at White Barn Fun Farm, west of Brooks, sending animals scattering, according to the farm's owner and manager Melissa Jackson. She said two animals were killed by debris, and a horse and some birds were injured. "Sadly we lost a Bactrian camel, five years old, and a pony that were best friends, and they died together," Jackson said. She said they are in "survival mode" as they work to lay the animals to rest, handle insurance and clean up the messy aftermath. She does not anticipate they will reopen to customers this season, which would typically run until October.
CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
Kingston fire starting to show signs of 'less activity,' says fire duty officer
Latest updates: Martin Lake fire is now being held, at 1,770 hectares. Paddy's Pond fire is now being held, at 318 hectares. Off-road vehicle ban lifted as of 11:59 p.m. NT on Wednesday. Kingston fire is 10,708 hectares. 203 structures have been destroyed by Kingston fire. Only the Kingston fire in Newfoundland's Conception Bay North continues to burn out of control, and the provincial fire duty officer says it's showing signs of slowing down. On Wednesday evening, the province announced the Martin Lake fire — which has been burning since Aug. 5 and is 1,770 hectares — had been downgraded from burning out of control to being held. It follows the Paddy's Pond fire being downgraded to also being held on Tuesday evening. "It's always a positive when we can downgrade a fire's rating," fire duty officer Bryan Oke told CBC Radio's The St. John's Morning Show. Oke said they will maintain the ground support on the Martin Lake fire for the next couple of days but he added it's not uncommon to reallocate resources to other fires when one fire is downgraded. The Kingston fire is now the only wildfire burning out of control on the island and Oke said it is still 10,708 hectares. "We anticipate a full day of multiple aerial missions and we're starting to see a small change in fire behaviour there, so less activity in that fire as well," said Oke. Oke said Thursday's weather conditions are good and they plan on flying multiple missions in the morning and afternoon. He said alongside the water bombers there will be heavy-capacity helicopters, military support and ground crews on site. 'Mop up mode' at Paddy's Pond Oke said the Paddy's Pond fire is still 318 hectares. "Basically we're entering mop up mode," he said. They will monitor for hot spots and then work on putting them out. Oke said crews are planning for a warmer day but light winds will help with firefighting efforts. "Just another day with regular activity," said Oke. ATV ban lifted The off-road vehicle restriction in place for forested areas where the fire risk is high, very high or extreme was lifted as of 11:59 p.m. Wednesday night. Around noon on Thursday, ParksNL said people can now use propane fire pits in provincial parks as long as they are only used on designated, hardened surfaces within campsites away from flammable materials, and never left unattended. The provincewide fire ban is still in effect until at least Sept. 7. According to the provincial fire hazard map, as of Thursday morning the vast majority of the island is considered at a low risk of fire, with portions of Bonavista Bay at a moderate risk and the Burin Peninsula at a high risk. In Labrador, the fire risk ranges from low to very high. 'A heavy week' Hundreds of people who live in Conception Bay North have spent weeks evacuated. Earlier this week, Premier John Hogan said the Kingston fire destroyed approximately 200 structures. "It's been a bit of a heavy week. We're starting to see the full scale of this disaster," said Coun. Mark Ploughman with the Town of Small Point-Broad Cove-Blackhead-Adam's Cove. Officials have been able to enter communities to carry out assessments, which he said will help in the planning process to eventually get people back to their homes. However, with the fire still burning out of control, he has no timeline for when people can return. "It's the stabilization, the recovery stuff that really demands our attention right now, and there will be rebuilding conversations, for sure. And we can start thinking about that conceptually," Ploughman said. "Right now the priority has to be getting people safely back in their homes so they can resume their lives as normal as possible." On Monday, Hogan announced a cabinet committee, chaired by Seniors Minister Jamie Korab, to help Conception Bay North communities recover. Smoky air lingers Meteorologist Tiffany Cheeks said the northeast Avalon Peninsula is mainly sunny on Thursday with a high of 19 C, and northwest winds gusting between 20 to 40 kilometres per hour. "We are expecting a little bit of cloud to push in tomorrow with a few showers or drizzle for Bonavista, though it may not reach St. John's," she said. "It looks like early into next week we'll get back up into sort of mid-20 degree range." An air quality warning is still in effect for the north Avalon Peninsula, with an air quality statement for the area surrounding St. John's. Both Environment Canada warnings are due to smoke from the Kingston wildfire. Cheeks said she isn't expecting too much smoke in the area but with winds coming from the northwest, there is "potential for some smoke to blow over the St. John's area." Cheeks added the special air quality statement could be lifted sometime on Thursday. Evacuation, alerts The provincial evacuation orders are still in effect for Small Point-Broad Cove-Blackhead-Adam's Cove, Kingston, Salmon Cove, Western Bay, Perry's Cove, Ochre Pit Cove and Burnt Point-Gull Island-Northern Bay. Evacuation alerts remain in place for Freshwater, Job's Cove and Victoria. Access to cabin areas on Rushy Pond Road, Martin Lake Road and Miguels Lake Road are closed and the area is under an evacuation advisory.
CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
Eastbound Trans-Canada Highway still closed near Brooks following damaging storm
A cleanup is underway in the area of Brooks, Alta., following a damaging storm. Hannah Lepine reports. A section of the Trans-Canada highway remains closed near Brooks, Alta., following a powerful storm that snapped powerlines and damaged homes. The fast-moving supercell tore though southern Alberta on Wednesday afternoon, bringing loonie-sized hail and damaging wind gusts. The storm caused the closure of Highway 1 between Brooks and Bassano due to multiple collisions and downed power lines. On Thursday, eastbound Highway 1 remained closed near Brooks – with a detour at Highway 36 – while westbound Highway 1 was open but with just a single lane of travel. For more information on Alberta travel conditions and closures you can check out 511 Alberta on X.
