Work crews will be in for some overtime this weekend as a lot of cleanup work is on tap throughout the City of Calgary.
Over 20 cm of wet, heavy snow fell during the snowfalls on September 8 and 10, sticking to the leaves of trees that hadn’t even begun to shed.
The result; many trees were damaged, some irreparably.
Officials have said that with all the damage, they’ve been forced to close all city parks and pathways until crews can clear the debris.
This is because it’s unsafe for people to be in those areas, and some are just impassable.
The city says that falling trees and tree limbs remain a significant hazard and residents should avoid all parks until further notice.
CEMA director Ken Useloc said during a conference on Friday morning that this is a big job for crews. "I would really ask for your patience and understanding."
"We are still working on the priorities, but we're also working on the cleanup. Citizens have been outstanding with their patience."
He says the focus is on priority one and two routes, but teams with the CFD, between calls, are out in the community identifying issues.
"Over the past three days, 311 has gotten over 25,000 calls," Uzeloc said. "There are trees that are still broken, so when you're walking around, don't look straight ahead, look up too."
Dave Griffiths, director of Calgary's Waste and Recycling Services, says that all three of Calgary's landfills have been open extended hours to accomodate the tree debris.
He says the clean material is being stored for mulching later on. "We've already received over a million kilograms of tree debris."
Griffiths added that the city's regular leaf and pumpkin recycling sites will be opening earlier this year to help residents during the cleanup. "All 33 of our leaf and pumpkin recycling sites will be open on Saturday. That will open the opportunity for residents to bring their debris there."
As for city parks, Parks director Anne Charlton says all parks and pathways are remaining closed at this time, but they are in the process of opening parks that are getting ready to be open.
Charlton says they are working with organizers to set up a proper route for the Terry Fox Run to take place on the weekend.
Unfortunately, September programming for kids at the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary will be cancelled because of the damage done to the trees in the facility.
A full list of park closures and updated information on those closures can be found here.
