Police say stay inside as storm rages in Medicine Hat

By medicinehatnews on October 17, 2017.

S-Sgt. Kelsey Fraser of the Medicine Hat Police Service is strongly suggesting people stay inside and away from emergency scenes as 76 km/h winds rack the city.

“We have called in extra resources to deal with the call volume on our side,” he says. “Our 9-11 call centre has extra staff in it right now due to the high call volume. Our biggest concern now is making sure people don’t succumb to interest to come look at the scene and create a hazard to themselves or the police and emergency services. We are saturated with a number of calls, mainly regarding downed trees and power lines which obviously create a hazard to any pedestrians in the area due to arcing and fire.”

Fraser says there so far have been no reports of death or serious injury as a result of the storm.

“We have a lot of property damage and safety hazards due to fallen trees and power lines,” Fraser says. “As long as the wind keeps up, keep inside.”