Mysterious plumes of pink smoke were seen over northeast Edmonton late Friday morning.
Three Edmonton Fire Rescue Services crews were called to the Waste Management Centre at around 11:30 a.m.
A EFRS spokesperson told Global News there was no fire. No one was in danger and no evacuation was ordered. There was no indication the smoke was hazardous.
A city spokesperson said fire crews arrived on scene at 11:47 a.m. “There was no fire and the smoke has been contained,” Nicole Paradis said.
She said following a power failure at the Edmonton Alberta Biofuels (EAB) site at the waste management centre, a substance was released that “resulted in pink smoke.”
Fire crews deemed the area safe. As of 1:45 p.m., emergency crews had left and staff at the Edmonton Waste Management Centre were allowed to return to work.
EWMC management are looking into the situation, the city said.
Paradis said the incident had been reported to Alberta Environment.
However, it is not clear what exactly the substance was.
“The quantity of substance that was evacuated in the air is below occupational exposure limits and there are no safety or health concerns for people or the environment,” Paradis said in an update.
“We are conducting an investigation and working with everyone that’s on scene to determine what the cause was and that will probably be over in the next couple of days,” said Suzzette Melledo with Edmonton Fire Rescue Services.
Several people documented the strange sight on social media and sent video and photos to Global News.
— More to come…