Cardston area cleaning up after severe hail and wind storm
A massive clean up is underway in Cardston and parts of the Blood Reserve after a severe hail storm hit Monday evening.
Hail was piled close to a metre high in some places, looking more like a snow storm had swept through the community. Lower parts of downtown Cardston were flooded as the hail began melting.
“Some doors had been blown in, and there was pretty heavy flooding coming up to the wheel wells on trucks," said Chamber of Commerce President Tarence Kemp, who was contacted by RCMP to notify business owners in Cardston.
The storm started around 8:30 p.m. and lasted about 30 minutes. Kemp said town emergency crews were already working when he arrived at his store.
“They had dozers and front end loaders moving hail and opening up water drains.”
The Cardston hail storm of July 5, 2021
Kemp said volunteer emergency services helped out, along with town councillors, including Councillor Paula Brown, who was helping to shovel sidewalks.
“Emergency crews were running until two or three o’clock in the morning moving hail, water and snow together.”
He said many business owners were working until past midnight to deal with flooding or other damage.
The work resumed Tuesday morning, as businesses began connecting with their insurance companies and contractors.
Kemp said it was impressive to see everyone coming together during an unexpected emergency, “in the beginning of July, with our heat wave, followed by tonnes and tonnes of hail and snow.”
DAMAGE ON BLOOD RESERVE
There are also reports of damage to homes and vehicles on the Blood Reserve, north of Cardston.
Cardston, Alta. hail storm, July 5, 2021
“My car felt like it was going to be picked up and thrown,” said Valarie Fox.
She was in her car, just down the road from her house, when the storm hit.
“It was really scary. I sat in there and just held on,” she added.
“I asked myself, is this a tornado?”
Fox said the clouds were swirling, debris was flying through the air and her car was lashed by rain that was coming in sideways.
“It was dark, and then it turned white, and I could see nothing around me.”
She estimates the storm lasted about 25 minutes before it headed south towards Cardston.
That’s when Fox got a phone call from her husband Gerald, who was at home. “He said the roof is gone.”
Half of the roof was ripped off the house, 12 kilometers south of Stand Off. Fox said her husband was inside trying to keep the door from blowing open.
“It was a dangerous situation. Water was pouring into the house from all the light fixtures, walls, and windows.”
The storm also snapped a large tree limb in their front yard, and took down the power line.
The couple spent the morning removing possessions from the house, and drying them off outside.
The Red Cross has offered emergency accommodations for the next three days.
There are reports of damage to other homes and at least one of the vehicles in a neighbors yard, but Fox said she’s thankful nobody was injured.
“It could have been worse.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
World seeing near breakdown of international law amid wars in Gaza and Ukraine, Amnesty says
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned Wednesday as it published its annual report.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
U.S. Senate passes bill forcing TikTok's parent company to sell or face ban, sends to Biden for signature
The Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would force TikTok's China-based parent company to sell the social media platform under the threat of a ban, a contentious move by U.S. lawmakers that's expected to face legal challenges.
Wildfire southwest of Peace River spurs evacuation order
People living near a wildfire burning about 15 kilometres southwest of Peace River are being told to evacuate their homes.
U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passes aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan with big bipartisan vote
The U.S. Senate has passed US$95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden after months of delays and contentious debate over how involved the United States should be in foreign wars.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.