Summerside closes its sports dome after damage from generator use
The $5 million dome over a huge indoor turf field opened three years ago for the Canada Winter Games. Warm air is pumped continuously inside the dome to keep it inflated.
But the dome, along with other large users in the P.E.I. municipality, has been using backup power from generators for over a week.
That's because Maritime Electric is asking users to curtail power use during peak times — in the mornings and evenings — as it works to repair a transformer at the Sherbrooke substation that is a conduit for half of Summerside's power.
"There were some concerning moments this morning," Desrosiers told CBC News, explaining that the dome was damaged after its inflation system experienced a connection disruption.
The dome was "not designed to be run on generators, and the last eight days we have been doing that during peak times, to bring down the load requirements," he said.
To be on the safe side, Desrosiers said, the dome now needs an assessment by specialized technicians, who must travel from out of province. Once that's done, the city will know whether repairs are needed and how soon the dome could reopen.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Manitoba athletes winning medals, breaking records 1 week into Canada Summer Games
Manitoba athletes are adding their names to the history books at the 2025 Canada Summer Games in St. John's. Swimmer Maxine Lavitt broke the Canada Games record in the 50-metre freestyle para women's race with a time of 28.28 en route to a gold medal on Thursday. It's one of five medals she's taking home from the Games. "It's really special for me," Lavitt told CBC News Friday. "I think it's really cool that I get to have my name there, until the next Games. We'll see how long it stands for." "It means a lot to me because this was my last swim meet of my career," she said. "I'm taking a step back after these Games, so it was really special for me to go out with a bang, basically." Beyond the medals, Lavitt also said participating in the competition was a meaningful experience. "Being Red River Métis it was really special for me to represent my homeland and my province at the same time and for everyone at home to be watching me," she said. "And for everyone to be watching me, I've had so many people in my support circle who have helped bring me here. "It's been a really long year training to get here, so I'm happy it all paid off," Lavitt said. Manitoba had won 17 medals at the 2025 Games as of Friday night. Team 'Toba brought home 37 medals at the 2022 Games. The Games began Aug. 8 and run until Aug. 25. The competition's first week has been affected by the ongoing wildfire situation in Newfoundland, which has forced multiple venue changes and postponements. "We're so proud of all of our athletes and teams this week, putting in one outstanding performance after another in incredibly difficult circumstances," said Team Manitoba chef de mission Drew Todd, in a statement to CBC News. 'I was in disbelief' Also adding to Manitoba's medal count is William Wintoniw, who won a bronze medal Thursday in the canoe kayak C-1 5,000-metre men's race. "I was in disbelief to be honest for the first maybe half hour after my race ," he said. "I wasn't quite expecting it, but I was quite overjoyed. Wintoniw said being able to celebrate with his family felt "surreal." "I'm a lot younger than some of the competitors," he said. "I was going in with the mindset that I want to win, but I knew that there were a lot of others guys with a lot of experience." While Wintoniw still aims to compete in one more Canada Games, Lavitt had some advice for other athletes who represent Team Manitoba this year and in the future before she walks away from competing: Have fun. "For some people this is the only time they're going to have a major Games experience," she said. "It's just [about] having as much fun as possible and not taking yourself too seriously."
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
All of Kananaskis Country under bear warning, some trails closed
With 17 bear advisories now in effect throughout the Bow Valley, Alberta Parks has issued a bear warning encompassing the entirety of Kananaskis Country. The bear warning, put into effect on Tuesday, comes after multiple reports of bear bluff charges and close encounters in popular parts of Kananaskis. Kananaskis Country, spanning more than 4,000 square kilometres of provincially managed land in southern Alberta, is home to many popular tourist destinations, including Grassi Lakes, Troll Falls and the Canmore Nordic Centre — all of which had bear advisories put in place during the last few months. In an interview with CBC News, Alberta Minister of Forestry and Parks Todd Loewen said there hasn't been a Kananaskis-wide warning like this since 2016. "This time of year in particular, the bears are feeding to fatten up for winter, so they're out foraging," he said. He said the warning was put in place due to this year's abundant buffaloberry crop, with bears foraging for these small fruits throughout the Bow Valley. "Buffaloberries to us might be a little bit sour, but the bears really like them, and that's why they're out there foraging at this time," Loewen said. "And with an extremely high number of buffaloberries out there, then we know that the bears will be out there feeding on them, and there will be just a greater opportunity for people to interact with the bear, come into contact with the bear." Of the 17 Alberta Parks bear advisories in place, the latest warning is different from the 16 others, as it encompasses all of Kananaskis rather than focusing on a specific area where bears have been seen or encountered. "Normally when we have issues with bears, we know it's a particular bear in a particular area, so we just [implement] warnings for that area," Loewen said. "But since the buffaloberry issue is widespread, because they're growing everywhere across Kananaskis, we wanted to make sure that we provided a warning across the whole area." The bear warning will likely remain in place for 10 to 14 days, Loewen said. "We'll probably leave this on until the berries fall from the bushes," he said, adding that "they're starting to fall already." In the meantime, Loewen said Alberta Parks continues to manage wildlife encounters through its aversive conditioning program. Multiple closures in effect Four of the current bear advisories have resulted in areas being closed off to the public. Part of the Upper Kananaskis Lake Circuit Trail was closed Monday due to multiple bears feeding in the area, in addition to a reported grizzly bear bluff charge. The closed section stretches from the North Interlakes Day Use to White Spruce Day Use trailheads, and includes the 1982 Canadian Mount Everest Expedition Interpretive Trail as well as the shoreline. The Evan-Thomas Provincial Recreation Area's Bill Milne Trail is closed from Kananaskis Village to Mount Kidd RV Park, effective Aug. 7, due to multiple grizzly and black bears seen feeding in the area. The rest of the trail has a bear warning in place following a grizzly bear bluff charge in the section from Mount Kidd to Wedge Pond. WATCH | Beware of bears while in the mountains during buffaloberry season: The Buller Mountain Day Use area in Spray Valley Provincial Park was closed on Aug. 6 due to multiple grizzly bears — including mothers with cubs — being seen feeding on berries in the area. A grizzly bear was observed feeding on a cow carcass in the area south of Gorge Creek Trail, resulting in a closure from that area west to Bluerock Creek Trail and east to Indian Oils trail gate, including all trails and routes within that area, effective Aug. 6. 'A bear bonanza' Kim Titchener, the founder of Bear Safety & More, called this year's spike in sightings "a bear bonanza." She suggested that increased visitation at this time of year plays a part in the Bow Valley's high number of bear sightings. "When we see increased bear sightings and encounters, it can be because there's more human beings on the trails, and that's certainly possible with tourism," she said. "And the other piece to that could be that the bears are congregating in areas where human beings are spending a lot of time," she said. Titchener, who does bear safety consultations with members of the forestry and construction industries, said buffaloberries tend to grow in places that are frequented by humans. "Berries grow really well on the sides of trails, and in open meadows, and even on the edges of construction zones," she said. "So people that are working out in bear country, and recreating in bear country, are going to see more encounters." WATCH | What can be learned from Calgary couple's grizzly bear encounter: Titchener said it's important that people heading out to Kananaskis know what to do in the event of a bear encounter. "The problem is that most of us human beings that are out here on the trail systems have not taken bear safety training [and] are not aware of what to do," she said. "So for the part of the government, I can totally understand why they would want to put a mass warning up," Titchener said. "It's not because the bears are becoming dangerous; it's because we human beings are not taking precautions to avoid encounters in the first place." She said hikers should make noise, travel in groups and keep dogs on-leash to avoid bear encounters. "If you don't do that, you're going to end up in an encounter where a bear is going to feel surprised. It's going to get defensive, and we could potentially have a bear attack on our hands," Titchener said. Multiple encounters involving the use of bear spray have been reported. According to Alberta Parks, bear spray should be deployed if a bear gets within four metres. The Alberta Parks website offers detailed information on bear safety in Kananaskis Country. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
When wildfires break out as nearly 400 athletes and staff get ready to push themselves to the limit
Wildfires have forced many people out of their homes in Newfoundland, but they've also led to multiple relocations and postponements for major sporting events in the Canada Games. Nicolle Derry is leading P.E.I.'s largest-ever team at the 2025 Canada Summer Games in St. John's, guiding nearly 400 athletes and staff. She talks to Louise Martin, host of CBC News: Compass.
