Thousands of people are without power in Edmonton and central Alberta Tuesday night as high winds continue to sweep through the region.
Strong winds from the northwest are blowing between Edmonton and Red Deer, and were expected to reach between 90 and 100 km/h.
Environment Canada is warning homeowners to expect damage to buildings, including falling shingles and broken windows.
Power outages
Epcor is reporting power outages in the Garneau neighbourhood from 104th Street to 114th Street between 82nd Avenue and 96th Avenue, due to a downed tree that fell onto power lines.
A downed tree near 83rd Avenue and 111th Street, knocked out power to residents in Garneau. (@JaneDoe82162111/Twitter)
Downed power lines have also caused outages near the University of Alberta from 109th Street to 115th Street between 76th Avenue and 90th Avenue.
“We began preparing for this earlier in the day, we knew it was coming,” Epcor spokesperson Tim le Riche told CBC Edmonton Tuesday night. “At about 5 o’clock we had the first reported outages.”
Epcor had six power outages across the city Tuesday evening, but in most cases power was restored quickly, le Riche said.
However, restoring power to Garneau is proving more difficult, he added.
“It’s a big tree,” le Riche said. “It’s going to take most of the night if not all of the night to get that back because of the extensive damage to the line.”
A downed tree near 83rd Avenue and 111th Street, knocked out power to residents in Garneau. (@JaneDoe82162111/Twitter)
Fortis Alberta said 3,512 people have lost power in Strathcona County, Leduc County and Camrose County. The power outages began around 7:05 p.m. and the company said it does not know how long it will last.
Rogers Place entryway closed
In anticipation of the storm, officials from Rogers Place said they are closing the pedestrian portal off 103rd Avenue and 103rd Street for tonight’s Edmonton Oilers game against — fittingly — the Carolina Hurricanes.
“Oilers Entertainment Group and PCL track the wind forecast on an hourly basis and has determined the active construction site in which the portal resides could pose a safety threat for guests coming to Rogers Place tonight,” the group said in a press release Tuesday.
Guests at the game are asked to access Rogers Place from the lobby off 104th Avenue next to the Grand Villa Edmonton Casino, which will bring them to Ford Hall. Other possible entrances are through the Metro Line LRT station and the arena’s parkade.
Effects of the wind are already being seen in parts of northern Alberta.
A tree fell over and damaged power lines in Jarvis Bay on Sylvan Lake, according to Alberta Emergency Alert.
She’s a windy one at #rogersplace #abstorm. #HoldOn #windy pic.twitter.com/FN3sn3ZGrs
Winds are expected to weaken as the night goes on and will move east towards Saskatchewan overnight.
According to Environment Canada,100 km/h winds are expected to return Wednesday afternoon in southern Alberta.