Thousands of Calgarians found themselves without power Tuesday afternoon as rain continued to pelt the city under rain and wind warnings.
According to Enmax, communities in the northeast, northwest and southwest quadrants of the city were affected early in the afternoon.
In a statement, the utility said approximately 4,850 customers were without power as of 3:30 p.m.
“Enmax Power has brought in extra crews to continue to work towards restoring power safely and quickly,” an Enmax spokesperson said in an email. “The number of affected customers is constantly changing as our crews work to safely restore power.”
Reports of downed power lines started coming in just after noon.
Enmax was able to restore power to some of the customers, working all afternoon to restore power.
Some of the outages were reported as “tree contact,” and the City of Calgary’s transportation department warned drivers some power outages were affecting street lights. Lights flashing red are to be treated as four-way stops.
Enmax warns Calgarians to stay back at least 10 metres if they see a downed power line and report the outage to their website or by calling 403-514-6100. If the line is sparking or on the ground, call 911. If the power line is touching a tree, the utility warns not to remove branches or trees from wires as electricity can travel through any object touching the wire.
Communities that were affected included:
- Altadore
- Bankview
- Banff Trail
- Bonavista Downs
- Brentwood
- Bridgeland/Riverside
- Cambrian Heights
- Charleswood
- Cliff Bungalow
- Collingwood
- Crescent Heights
- Dalhousie
- Edgemont
- Elbow Park
- Foothills
- Greenview
- Hawkwood
- Maple Ridge
- Mount Pleasant
- Parkdale
- Renfrew
- Richmond
- Scarboro
- Shaganappi
- Spruce Cliff
- South Calgary
- Thorncliffe
- Tuxedo Park
- Upper Mount Royal
- Winston Heights/Mountview
- Lake Bonavista
- The University of Calgary
Some Enmax customers on the Tsuut’ina First Nation also had power knocked out.
Enmax’s outage web portal has the latest power outages reported.
The city-owned utility did have one planned power outage in the community of Fairview, in which a transformer was scheduled to be replaced. That outage was expected to impact 30 customers and was resolved before 2 p.m.
Calgary Fire Department public information officer Carol Henke said CFD had more than 20 calls for wind incidents, including downed trees and power lines. She said there were no reported injuries.
Henke advised anyone dealing with downed power lines to stay clear of the area due to the wet ground and call 911 immediately.
Just before noon, Environment and Climate Change Canada issued a wind warning, saying strong wind gusts of up to 90 km/h were expected early in the afternoon.
“The wet ground from the ongoing rain may lead to an increased risk of tree falls,” the federal agency warned.
“Damage to buildings, such as to roof shingles and windows, may occur. High winds may toss loose objects or cause tree branches to break.”
Telephone, TV and internet services also experienced outages in some parts of the city.
Shaw said its internet, phone and television services in Renfrew, Bankview and Upper Mount Royal were knocked out early in the afternoon.
Telus reported a telephone outage in Shawnessy and internet and television outages in other areas of the city.
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