Latest news with #Prairies
Globe and Mail
13 hours ago
- Politics
- Globe and Mail
Statement from Minister Olszewski regarding wildfires in Saskatchewan
OTTAWA, ON , /CNW/ - Today, the Honourable Eleanor Olszewski, Minister of Emergency Management and Community Resilience and Minister responsible for Prairies Economic Development Canada, issued the following statement: "The wildfires currently burning across the province of Saskatchewan continue to pose a significant risk to many communities, some of which have been ordered to evacuate. Today, in my capacity as Minister of Emergency Management, I approved a Request for Federal Assistance from the Government of Saskatchewan . We will be providing Saskatchewan with additional firefighters to mitigate the wildfires, and helicopters to transport critical personnel. The Government Operations Centre is working with the Canadian Armed Forces, and other federal and provincial partners, to deploy all necessary resources, and ensure the province of Saskatchewan has the support needed. I am truly grateful to the firefighters, first responders, emergency management officials, and local volunteers for their unwavering dedication in helping those affected by the wildfires. I remain in close contact with my counterpart in Saskatchewan . During these difficult times, we are here and ready to support." Associated Links
CTV News
14 hours ago
- Climate
- CTV News
Help coming for livestock producers in Manitoba amid drought
Drought conditions across Canada's prairies have left farmers praying for rainfall to salvage their crops. Alex Karpa on how this may impact consumers.
CBC
2 days ago
- Climate
- CBC
Researchers chase storms, study fist-sized stones in Alberta's 'Hailstorm Alley'
Social Sharing Julian Brimelow holds up a replica of the mother of all hailstones — a lumpy white blob as big as your fist carrying the weight of two baseballs with the power to pulverize fields of corn into green-yellow mush. Brimelow and other researchers from Western University in London, Ont., are using it in their research to better understand and predict Alberta's prevalent hailstorm activity, and mitigate harm to people and property. Hail can be bad across the Prairies. But Brimelow says when it hits in Alberta, it hits hard. "It's much worse than I thought it could be in terms of damage potential," Brimelow said Tuesday at the project's open house at the Telus Spark Science Centre. "On the same day as the (2024) Calgary hailstorm, there was a storm farther south and that decimated six to seven-foot corn crops to the point that our team wasn't sure it was actually corn," he said. "It was that pummeled into the ground." WATCH | The Northern Hail Project surveys the damage caused by Calgary's recent hailstorm How a Canadian storm laboratory is investigating Calgary's hail damage 4 days ago The Canadian Severe Storms Laboratory at Western University in London, Ont., has dispatched a damage survey team to chase and investigate destruction from Alberta storms this summer. The 'Northern Hail Project' crew went out with the CBC's Acton Clarkin after a major hailstorm hit pockets of Calgary. "Hailstorm Alley" runs from High River, just south of Calgary, north to central Alberta. The area sees more than 40 hailstorms every summer, causing hundreds of millions of dollars in damage. Brimelow, executive director of the Northern Hail Project — a branch of Western University's Canadian Severe Storms Laboratory — said it's probably the most active hailstorm zone in Canada. A storm in Calgary last August brought significant hail, strong winds, heavy rain and localized flooding, affecting about one in five homes. The Insurance Bureau of Canada estimated the damage to the city, deemed the country's second-costliest weather-related disaster, at $2.8 billion. Hailstones as big as golf balls hammered the tarmac at Calgary International Airport, damaging planes at WestJet and Flair Airlines, and forcing them to ground 10 per cent of their fleets for repairs and inspections. Brimelow said such hailstorms are underestimated at one's peril. Several small animals and pets were killed in Calgary last year, he said, and an infant was killed in Europe in 2023. The research sees stones collected on scene, preserved in a mobile freezer, and later measured, weighed, photographed and perhaps replicated. "The more interesting stones we'll 3D scan and then we can make prints," he said. Copies of several realistic hailstones were on display at the open house, ranging in size from a walnut to a golf ball and one bigger than a large hand. "This is the new record-sized Canadian stone. This fell in 2022 near Innisfail," Brimelow said. "This is 12.3 centimetres across and nearly weighs 300 grams. This would have been falling at 160-plus kilometres an hour." The team's field co-ordinator, Jack Hamilton, said the size and shape of the stones provide researchers with information on what happens inside the storms. "It was long thought that the hailstone sort of goes through the storm in a washing machine cycle. But we're actually learning that it's probably just once, maybe twice, that the hailstone goes through the storm and it collects all of its mass in that one travel through," Hamilton said. "It gets bigger and bigger, and eventually gravity takes over and it falls. And it falls pretty fast." To get the stones, they first have to chase them. Hamilton said their chase vehicles have a protective coating against hail and are equipped with storm-locating radar and a lightning detector for safety.
CTV News
2 days ago
- Climate
- CTV News
Researchers chase storms, study fist-sized stones in Alberta's ‘Hailstorm Alley'
Julian Brimelow, executive director of the Northern Hail Project, displays a 3D replica of a near record hailstone collected in 2022, at the Telus Spark Science Centre in Calgary, on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Bill Graveland) Julian Brimelow holds up a replica of the mother of all hailstones – a lumpy white blob as big as your fist carrying the weight of two baseballs with the power to pulverize fields of corn into green-yellow mush. Brimelow and other researchers from Western University in London, Ont., are using it in their research to better understand and predict Alberta's prevalent hailstorm activity and mitigate harm to people and property. Hail can be bad across the Prairies. But Brimelow says when it hits in Alberta, it hits hard. 'It's much worse than I thought it could be in terms of damage potential,' Brimelow said Tuesday at the project's open house at the Telus Spark Science Centre. 'On the same day as the (2024) Calgary hailstorm, there was a storm farther south and that decimated six to seven-foot corn crops to the point that our team wasn't sure it was actually corn,' he said. 'It was that pummeled into the ground.' 'Hailstorm Alley' runs from High River, just south of Calgary, north to central Alberta. The area sees more than 40 hailstorms every summer, causing hundreds of millions of dollars in damage. Brimelow, executive director of the Northern Hail Project — a branch of Western University's Canadian Severe Storms Laboratory — said it's probably the most active hailstorm zone in Canada. A storm in Calgary last August brought significant hail, strong winds, heavy rain and localized flooding, affecting about one in five homes. The Insurance Bureau of Canada estimated the damage to the city, deemed the country's second-costliest weather-related disaster, at $2.8 billion. Hailstones as big as golf balls hammered the tarmac at Calgary International Airport, damaging planes at WestJet and Flair Airlines and forcing them to ground 10 per cent of their fleets for repairs and inspections. Brimelow said such hailstorms are underestimated at one's peril. Several small animals and pets were killed in Calgary last year, he said, and an infant was killed in Europe in 2023. The research sees stones collected on scene, preserved in a mobile freezer, and later measured, weighed, photographed and perhaps replicated. 'The more interesting stones we'll 3D scan and then we can make prints,' he said. Copies of several realistic hailstones were on display at the open house, ranging in size from a walnut to a golf ball and one bigger than a large hand. 'This is the new record-sized Canadian stone. This fell in 2022 near Innisfail,' Brimelow said. 'This is 12.3 centimetres across and nearly weighs 300 grams. This would have been falling at 160-plus kilometres an hour.' The team's field co-ordinator, Jack Hamilton, said the size and shape of the stones provide researchers with information on what happens inside the storms. 'It was long thought that the hailstone sort of goes through the storm in a washing machine cycle. But we're actually learning that it's probably just once, maybe twice, that the hailstone goes through the storm and it collects all of its mass in that one travel through,' Hamilton said. 'It gets bigger and bigger, and eventually gravity takes over and it falls. And it falls pretty fast.' To get the stones, they first have to chase them. Hamilton said their chase vehicles have a protective coating against hail and are equipped with storm-locating radar and a lightning detector for safety. 'Our primary objective is to collect as much data as we possibly can,' he said. 'We go in behind these storms, and we collect the hail that falls behind it.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 22, 2025. Bill Graveland, The Canadian Press
CBC
3 days ago
- General
- CBC
Flin Flon high school grads raise caps at home after return from wildfire evacuation
Social Sharing The graduating class of a northern Manitoba high school got their diplomas and threw their caps into the air in front of a home crowd on Saturday, nearly a month after their community returned following an evacuation due to wildfires. Only a few weeks ago, a celebration wasn't guaranteed for the 54 Grade 12 students of Flin Flon's Hapnot Collegiate Institute. On May 28, they were among the city's 5,000 residents who were forced to leave when nearby wildfires triggered a mandatory evacuation order. Until late June, the students were scattered, mostly across the Prairies, staying with family and friends. "It was kind of heartbreaking," graduate Robin Hooper said of the uncertainty. "But then, when we came back, everything was all right, and we got our stuff planned. It was amazing." The ceremony recognized student accomplishments, including with more than 50 awards and bursaries, and also the dedication of firefighters who protected homes and people who lost their homes. "We weren't sure we were going to get it, so it is really exciting," graduate Emma White said about the ceremony. "It means just a lot to have something normal again after we all left," said graduate and triplet Aiden Antoniw, who walked across the stage with his brothers, Rylan and Zachary. High school teacher Rachel Wright, who helped organize the event with work starting in September, was determined to give graduates a celebration, even though it was almost a month later than usual, she said. "This is the same group that missed their Grade 8 ceremonies because of the [COVID-19] pandemic," Wright said. "It's nice that they don't have another thing out of their control ruin one of their monumentous occasions. This group has gone through a lot and persevered through it. Giving them something that they deserve and should have is really big." WATCH | Flin Flon graduates celebrate in July after wildfire disrupted earlier plans: Flin Flon high school grads raise caps at home after wildfire evacuation 1 hour ago Outside the Whitney Forum venue, banners bearing the faces of graduates lined the roads. Among Hapnot Collegiate's decades-old traditions is a car parade during grad week — where students douse and get doused with hoses and water guns throughout the city — along with a march down Main Street on grad night. "They're excited, and they should be," principal Jordan Dumenko said. Arm in arm, the grads walked in their formal wear under an orange sun and thick smoke. The event meant a lot to community members, too, who continue to mourn the devastation caused by wildfires that ripped through nearby communities, including Denare Beach. Lifelong Flin Flon resident Lana Nagy said it was the first formal get-together with everyone in the city since their return. "Very thankful to have this day and the kids get everything that they should," said Nagy, who attended the ceremony to watch her granddaughter graduate. Longtime friends Isabelle Kerfont and Scarlett Gunn were grateful to make memories after "the month that we lost," as was Gunn's mother, who made her grad dress while they were evacuated in Winnipeg. "My mom did not stop working on my grad dress," said Gunn, who hopes to attend film school after a gap year. "She would just continue adding all the little things. We even had to scour so many Walmarts and craft stores just to get one bottle of glitter paint." Susan Gunn Saray grabbed materials for her daughter's grad dress as they were fleeing Flin Flon. Assembling and beading the piece was therapeutic amid the chaos and uncertainty of the evacuation, said Gunn Saray, who based the creation on her daughter's sketch using fabric and lace a family friend and a relative sourced for them. "I'm glad I grabbed it. It was kind of a weird last-minute thing. I was on the way out the door," she said. Gunn Saray said she hoped her daughter would get to experience a graduation like she did from the same high school. "It's amazing, because there was a tough moment there when we were on evacuation … when we got the email that the school year was cancelled," Gunn Saray said. "That was my good ugly cry in Winnipeg," she said. "I just kept my fingers crossed … the kids could have this." As best friends Emma White and Braedon Tetlock get ready to leave Flin Flon for universities in Calgary and Kelowna, they're savouring their final moments with family and friends. "It's really special that we actually get to do everything that we would for a normal grad," said Tetlock, who was honoured with awards recognizing him as the graduate with the highest average. "It feels great to be together again and all know that we're here together. Our community's safe. All of our families are safe," White said.
