Lengthy clean-up ahead in Prince Albert after brief but powerful storm
A crash alerted Karen Cyr’s family to a large ash tree that had blown over in her driveway and on top of her car on Wednesday morning.
“I’ve never seen that in my life ever,” said Cyr. “The winds were so bad, I thought the hail would have damaged my vehicle, not a tree.”
Cyr says she’s thankful no one was hurt.
Her next door neighbour, Joyce Cook, was at work during the storm but came home to check on her children and deal with the fallen tree.
“I called my insurance and they said to call the city to see if they’d take the tree down,” said Cook. She called the city but hired a private arborist to come and remove the tree.
City Hall in Prince Albert fielded more than 100 calls from the public about the storm and damages.
Prince Albert city manager Jim Toye says multiple crews from different departments were dedicated to the clean-up. Many trees along River Street, Sixth Avenue and the Rotary Trail were broken.
“It’s going to take us well into next week to do what we need to do, to clean up the trees to make sure that they’re safe,” said Toye.
He says winds of up to 60 km/h are forecast for the evening, so they’re going to triage the calls and make sure the trees that threaten property will be taken down first.
“There’s a lot of priority trees that will be taken down today or hopefully by tomorrow,” Toye said.
The city closed many facilities when power was lost. Cook Municipal Golf Course, Alfred Jenkins Field House and the city water parks are closed for the remainder of the day.
Toye said the Prince Albert Fire Department had 23 calls for service due to fires caused by down power lines.
The most notable was a call of people being trapped in their vehicle due to flooding near a toppled powerline.
Students from Ecole St. Mary High School were evacuated to Sacred Heart Cathedral around 10 a.m. due to a small electrical fire.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Most of Canada to receive emergency alert test today
The federal government will test its capacity to issue emergency alerts today, with the exception of Ontario, where the test will take place on May 15.
'A huge difference': These adults born in the '90s partnered with their parents to buy homes in Ontario
An Ontario woman said it would have been impossible to buy a house without her mother – an anecdote that animates the fact that over 17 per cent of Canadian homeowners born in the ‘90s own their property with their parents, according to a new report.
OPINION No reunion between Prince Harry and the King signifies a setback for royal unity
Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has made headlines with his recent arrival in the U.K., this time to celebrate all things Invictus. But upon the prince landing in the U.K., we have already had confirmation that King Charles III won't have time to see his youngest son during his brief visit.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
How Drake and Kendrick Lamar's rap beef escalated within weeks
A long-simmering feud between hip-hop superstars Drake and Kendrick Lamar reached a boiling point in recent days as the pair traded increasingly personal insults on a succession of diss tracks. Here’s a quick overview of what’s behind the ongoing beef.
NEW For their protection, immigrants critical of China and India call for speedy passage of Canada's foreign interference legislation
Canadian immigrants threatened by hostile regimes are urging parliamentarians to quickly pass the 'Countering Foreign Interference Act' so they can feel safe living in their adopted home.
Ontario man devastated to learn $150,000 line of credit isn't insured after wife dies
An Ontario man found out that a line of credit he thought was insured actually isn't after his wife of 50 years died.
Spanish prosecutors recommend 2nd investigation into Shakira's taxes be thrown out
Spanish state prosecutors recommended Wednesday that an investigating judge shelve a probe into another alleged case of tax fraud by pop star Shakira.
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.