The Victoria Day long weekend in Calgary has been known to range from tobogganing to swimming weather. This year, it’s clearly on the running through the sprinkler side.
On Friday, rafters and paddleboarders were already out enjoying the Bow River.
“You never know. Last year was a bust. It was raining and I think we had one or two rafts,” said Arlin Friesen, owner of Lazy Day Raft Rentals. “Now I think we have 20 or 25 booked already for Saturday and Sunday each day and we have more capacity and the phones haven’t stopped ringing.”
On Friday afternoon the flow rate of the Bow River in Calgary was just below 200 cubic meters per second.
The city issues a boating advisory when the flow rate reaches 280 cubic meters per second.
“The current is a bit faster than normal, but still within the safe zone,” said Friesen. “The tricky thing are the bridges in the city. You don’t want to hit those bridges so you’ll need the paddling skills to be able to paddle between the bridges.”
The fire department is cautioning people wanting to get an early start on river recreation to monitor the flow rates and and use a durable raft.
“The water is still very, very cold, so make sure you have all the appropriate items that you need for a river float,” said Carol Henke with the Calgary Fire Department.
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A fire advisory has been issued for the City of Calgary due to the fire conditions throughout the province and increased smoke in the area reducing air quality.
People are asked to use extra caution and avoid the use of open flames and fire pits.
The fire department says careless smokers are a bigger problem than backyard fires.
“Our most common reason for accidental fire starts outside is the improper disposal of smoking materials,” Henke said.
The weather has resulted in one less thing to do in Calgary this weekend.
The Calgary Stampeders announced on Friday that because of fluctuating air quality caused by wildfires – Fanfest has been postponed.
Calgary Stampeders
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We are closely monitoring the fluctuating air quality caused by wildfire smoke in and around Calgary. As a proactive measure, we have made the difficult decision to reschedule our pre-game Fanfest to Saturday, June 24 & will provide additional details as they become available.The preseason game against the Elks on Monday will still go ahead.
https://weather.gc.ca/airquality/pages/nextHourlies/abaq-002_e.html
While the air quality forecast looks promising for biking outside on Saturday, driving will be impacted by numerous construction projects around the city. Calgary Transit passengers should also prepare to face delays as starting on Saturday through to the end of service on Monday, all downtown C Train stations, as well as some surrounding stations, will be closed with shuttle buses replacing trains.
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