City emergency management director Merrick Brown (left), and Grayson Mauch, the head of electrical distribution, update the media Tuesday about recovery efforts after Monday's extreme wind storm. -- News Photo Collin Gallant
cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant
Monday’s violent wind storm snapped at least 71 power poles in the city, cut off thousands from power – including the hospital and airport temporarily – and broke lines to the city’s north-end power plant, said city officials Tuesday
At an afternoon press briefing, power had been restored to all but 100 customers in Medicine Hat, Redcliff or city-franchise area of Cypress County, with crews expected to continue working for the remainder of this week.
With little other private property damage in Medicine Hat, the head of the city’s emergency operations centre said the crisis was well into the recovery stage after the initial response.
“We were initially concerned about some things that have been usual in the past,” said Merrick Brown. “Wind storms (in the region) typically occur in the spring or fall. In July, the hottest month of the year, temperatures above 30C without electricity provide significant risk.
“It’s not ideal situation, but we can mitigate it for our vulnerable population.”
The city worked to set up ‘cooling centres’ had the power outage affected a significant portion of the population for a prolonged period of time.
Now, they are confident power can be reconnected to remaining customers over the next several days.
Initially, 7,400 addresses had lost power when lines went down at about 1:30 p.m. Monday.
“We’re working to restore critical infrastructure as quickly as we practically can,” said Grayson Mauch, director of the electrical distribution department.
“The focus is on ensuring the safety of the public and our employees.”
Downed lines and broken poles on Box Springs Road also isolated the city’s north-end power plants, also known as Units No. 16 and 17.
Work is now being arranged to restore all power connections, said Mauch, and is cross-checked by emergency officials with a list provided by Alberta Health Services of people who required power for medical devices, such as oxygen concentrators.
Mauch also warned that portable generators should not be plugged into building sockets as the charge can travel back through lines that are under repair. Instead, appliances should be connected directly.
Medicine Hat Regional Hospital and the Medicine Hat Regional Airport did experience power fluctuations on Monday, but both facilities have back-up generators that kicked in.
The city also announced that the Big Marble Go Centre and outdoor pools would be fully reopened on Wednesday, but Echo Dale Regional Park is closed as damaged trees are inspected and clean-up takes place.
That could continue for up to two weeks, said Brown, and crews were also inspecting parks and boulevards for damaged limbs and unsafe trees.
Fortis Alberta stated on Tuesday that only about 20 remaining customers in the region without power were located near Tilley.
