A thunderstorm rolled through the Capital Region Thursday evening, bringing with it heavy rain, thunder and lightning.
Police had several streets blocked off as crews worked to repair downed power lines in the area of 128 Avenue and 134 Street. Tim LeRiche with EPCOR said three circuits were affected by lightning, causing about 2,000 customers to lose power.
EPCOR said crews were called out shortly before 6 p.m. to restore power between 114 and 137 Avenues and 107 to 149 Streets.
LeRiche said the downed lines are a danger to the public and people are asked to stay away from the area.
Garry Sicotte, who lives in the neighbourhood, said he was standing in his house with his granddaughter when he heard thunder and saw lightning.
“I picked her up, we were looking out the kitchen window and we looked in that direction and all of a sudden we’ve got a big flash,” Sicotte said. “It was loud…it all happened within 30 to 45 seconds from when I picked her up and looked out the window.”
“That opened her eyes to lightning and how much damage it can do.”
Power was expected to be out for several hours.
Lightning was also to blame for a fire at a northwest Edmonton supply shop. Cpt. Brian Williams with Edmonton Fire Rescue Services said lightning struck the east side of the Frontier Plumbing & Heating Supply building shortly after 6 p.m.
“There was one occupant inside the building at the time and he actually heard the lightning strike the building,” Williams said.
The man inside the building was not injured, Williams said.
The storm caused a bit of trouble for crews battling the blaze, as they were not able to get up on the roof because of the lightning. The fire was under control by about 6:30 p.m.
Watch below: Global News Skytracker camera show timelapse of severe weather rolling into Edmonton
Edmonton was under a severe thunderstorm warning Thursday afternoon. The warning was later dropped to a watch by Environment Canada.
Watch below: Global Edmonton Meteorologist Jesse Beyer has the latest from Environment Canada and the weather situation for Edmonton as of 6:05 p.m.
For the latest information on the watches and warnings, head to Environment Canada’s website.
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