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
BREAKING Ontario Provincial Police arrest 64 suspects in child sexual exploitation investigation
Ontario Provincial Police say 64 suspects are facing a combined 348 charges in connection with a series of child sexual exploitation investigations that spanned the province.
AstraZeneca says it will withdraw COVID-19 vaccine globally as demand dips
AstraZeneca said on Tuesday it had initiated the worldwide withdrawal of its COVID-19 vaccine due to a 'surplus of available updated vaccines' since the pandemic.
Toronto police seek suspect vehicle after security guard shot outside Drake's mansion
Toronto police are seeking help from the public as they continue to investigate a shooting that seriously injured a security guard outside rapper Drake's mansion.
World's record-breaking hot temperature streak stretches through April
The world just experienced its hottest April on record, extending an 11-month streak in which every month set a temperature record, the European Union's climate change monitoring service said on Wednesday.
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.
OPINION What King Charles' schedule being too 'full' to accommodate son suggests
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.
Seafood, eat food: Calgary Stampede releases Midway menu
The Calgary Stampede has released its menu of sweet, salty and spicy treats available on the Midway for the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth.
Boy Scouts of America is rebranding. Here's why they've changed their name
After more than a century, Boy Scouts of America is rebranding as Scouting America, another major shakeup for an organization that once proudly resisted change.
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.