‘A loud bang’: Irvine-area residents evacuated to Cypress County office in Dunmore after derailment
By Mo Cranker on August 2, 2019.
Shane Roth grabbed this photo of a derailed train near Dunmore Friday before evacuating his home with his family. -- SUBMITTED PHOTOResidents within a six-and-a-half kilometre radius poured into the Cypress County office in Dunmore after a train derailment just west of Irvine.
An evacuation was ordered after 4 p.m. Friday due to the train derailment involving damage to the railway line, disruption of road access and chemical exposure.
Despite heavy traffic, residents, their families and their pets found their way to the office in search of information around the derailment and what to do next. As of 9 p.m. Highway 1 was reopened both ways, but access to the Hamlet of Irvine is still closed off.
“It happened right in our back yard – we heard a loud bang and knew something wasn’t right,” said Irvine resident Shane Roth. “We saw fires along the tracks and we saw all of the train cars piled up like chopsticks. “We didn’t smell anything but we left right away.”
Roth, his wife, four kids, two cats, dog, lizard and rabbit were camped in the office parking lot with many in the same situation.
“It was scary,” said 11-year-old Hayden Roth.
Cypress County issues a state of emergency Friday and RCMP and firefighters are working to stabilize the situation.
The County office provided pop and water for those waiting and it allowed people to stay inside in the air conditioning.
“There was a person from Cypress County who came and knocked on our door to tell us that we had to leave,” said Andy Oakes. “We had to evacuate for the floods in 2010 and even last weekend we had the fires.
“In a time like this it’s important to just follow instructions and do what you’re told to do.”
Irvine resident Robert Mulligan says says he heard about the evacuation around 4:30 p.m. and said he knew it was important to act quickly.
“I just grabbed the animals, put them in cages and got them out of there,” he said. “I’ve been there for about six months so this is all new to me.
“I just grabbed my box of pills and the pets and got out.”
Many people had plans for the night, while others waited to hear if they could go home. Roth says it is important to always know how to act in case of an emergency.
“It’s scary, for sure,” he said. “You see this kind of stuff happening on TV and then just like that it’s in your backyard.
“It’s just important to be prepared for situations like this and it’s important to communicate during an emergency – you need to be prepared for stuff like this.” CP Rail announced Friday that it had teams attending to the site. Cypress County posted updates on the traffic situation on its Facebook page. 4
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