CALGARY – Calgarians are cleaning up after a three-day summer snowfall that battered the city.
The weight of heavy, wet snow snapped thousands of trees and branches, causing them to plummet down onto sidewalks, streets, cars and power lines – leaving almost 30,000 Calgarians without power.
“The snowfall during the last couple of days has broken many, many trees in the city… but it didn’t break our spirit,” said Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi in a news conference on Thursday.
“There is an extraordinary amount of cleanup left to do,” said Nenshi. “And that cleanup isn’t the kind that will be measured in days and in fact in weeks.”
WATCH: Rescue dog experiences first snowfall in Calgary
In the time during the summer snow storm, officials say The City of Calgary’s 311 call centre has received over 15,500 calls.
“The call volume is unprecidented in the city’s history,” says Ken Uzeloc, Calgary Emergency Management Agency. “The numbers are even higher than during the 2013 flood.”
Meanwhile, the city’s 911 call centre processed approximately 6,300 calls.
“We’re very fortunate that there have been no serious injuries reported.”
Global Calgary Meteorologist Jordan Witzel says in total 28.2 cm of snow fell at the Calgary International Airport between Monday and Wednesday.
POWER OUTAGES
As of Thursday morning, Enmax is no longer reporting any community-wide outages on their website, however, there are still individual customers who are without power. About 1,800 customers were still impacted as of Thursday afternoon, and Enmax says it’s working directly with those people.
Some homes may not have service despite the power being restored to their community, meaning they require additional repairs that will have to be done by a qualified tradesperson.
The City of Calgary says dozens of traffic signals that were not working due to power outages are now operational. Crews were brought in from Edmonton to help with all the repairs.
SCHOOL CLOSURES
The Calgary Board of Education says all of their schools are open on Thursday and have power.
Yellow school buses are operating as usual.
Parents and students are advised to watch the CBE website www.cbe.ab.ca for updates should conditions change.
Parents and/or guardians whose children access school bus service can view the status of their bus on www.myschoolbusmonitor.com.
The Calgary Catholic School District also says all of their schools are open on Thursday.
SUN IN THE FORECAST
Thankfully, Calgarians are getting a brief reprieve from the snowy weather.
Forecasters expect a high of 10°C with sunshine on Thursday.
The sun will turn to showers on Friday, followed by more sunshine and steadily increasing temperatures throughout the weekend.
To get your weather forecast on the go, download our Skytracker Weather App.
PREPARING FOR THE MELT
As the snow begins to melt, Calgarians are asked to watch for pooling water around their home.
“If you have catch basins in front of your home… make sure that there no debris, no leaves, and its clear for that water to flow,” says Ken Uzeloc, Calgary Emergency Management Agency.
“Water services anticipates no problem with the runoff from the melting snow.”
CLEANUP OF FALLEN DEBRIS
With snow no longer in the forecast, the focus now turns to clearing up the debris left behind. There have been about 3,830 tree related emergencies called in to 311 since September 9, both on private and public property.
The mayor is asking Calgarians to work with neighbours and friends to help clean up the city.
“If it is safe you can start picking up tree debris and taking it to landfills,” said Nenshi. “If you’ve got a truck and are willing to help out your neighbours, it’s a great thing to do.”
All three City landfills – Spyhill, Shepard and East Calgary – are accepting tree debris from the snowstorm at no charge until further notice.
Officials are asking those who aren’t able to take their debris to a landfill to instead cut it into pieces no longer than 4 feet in length and stack them where you normally have your black cart collected.
Residents are asked to NOT place their debris in their blue or black bins, as it can damage the cart.
“We’re not going to collect them right away,” says Nenshi. “But if they’re there we can start moving forward with that collection.”
The City of Calgary is asking property owners who have suffered damage from downed trees to do the following:
- Report damaged trees, with a picture if possible. Download the 311 mobile app for iPhone and Android, or use the online form to report your concern.
- If your personal property (car or home) has sustained damage, contact your insurance agent.
- Property owners – see bylaws related to snow and ice.
A plan for tree clean-up will be released by The City to inform residents how Calgary will be restored.
READ MORE: Tumbling trees downed by heavy snow cause chaos around Calgary
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