Motorists were asked to avoid a section of highway in central Alberta, and people staying at two different summer villages were told to seek shelter because of what RCMP described as “extremely high winds” in the Bashaw area on Saturday.
The RCMP said officers asked people at the summer villages of White Sands and Rochon Sands, near Buffalo Lake, “to seek shelter and get off the lake as quickly as possible” due to the “weather event.” According to RCMP, residents and visitors cooperated, and no injuries were reported.
Mounties said that the winds caused extensive property damage, which will need to be assessed in the light of day.
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The winds are also being blamed for a crash on the other side of the lake, on Highway 53 between the town of Bashaw, Alta. and Highway 56.
In a release, Mounties originally reported that a semi-truck transporting chemicals had rolled, spilling its contents. However, it was later determined that the high winds caused a release of calcium chloride; a substance which occurs naturally along Highway 53.
The cloud of calcium chloride led to a four-vehicle collision around 8:30 p.m. Saturday. Only minor injuries were reported.
“It was a very busy night, a very chaotic night for RCMP,” Cpl. Marcia McDermott told Global News on Sunday. “The information from the members who were on scene said that they were lucky to only have had minor injuries reported at the time.”
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