Environment Canada downgrades weather alert about damaging winds up to 110km/h
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Edmonton Journal
2 days ago
- Edmonton Journal
Edmonton resident struck by lightning in Thursday storm saved by paramedics
A west Edmonton resident struck by lightning during a Thursday afternoon storm burst was saved by quick intervention from Emergency Medical Services (EMS) paramedics who happened to be nearby. Article content 'At approximately 4:15 p.m. on July 24, Alberta Health Services EMS received a call for an incident near Callingwood Estates,' said a Friday statement emailed to Postmedia from Community Engagement and Communications for AHS. Article content Article content Article content The individual, transported to hospital in critical condition, had to be resuscitated at the scene, friends of the victim shared on social media. Article content Article content The call came in close to an EMS station, and the response was lightning fast, with first responders arriving in a minute. Article content 'I helped call them in, they were indeed there that quick,' posted one friend of the victim. Article content A poster named Brodi said Edmonton is lucky to have some of the most amazing paramedics around. Article content 'The fact that they do the job in all kinds of weather conditions — some quite dangerous, like thunderstorms, extreme heat, blizzard conditions — just shows some serious determination and dedication to their jobs and to helping others,' Brodi said. Article content Lightning has been in the news recently after Olympic ski cross medalist Audun Groenvold, 49, died after being struck by lightning. Article content Groenvold, who won bronze at the 2010 Vancouver Games, was a coach and sports commentator. He had been on a cabin trip at the time of his death. Article content Article content The Norwegian Ski Federation said Groenvold was 'quickly taken to hospital and received treatment for the injuries he sustained in the lightning strike' and then died from his injuries. Article content Article content Canadian statistics suggest somewhere around one in six individuals struck by lightning dies from their injuries. Article content Between 2002 and 2017, there were 180 lighting-related injuries in Canada. Article content On average, two to three individuals die each year from lightning strikes. Article content There used to be a rule about the time between lightning and thunder to determine distance, but that rule has been outmoded by research. Article content 'When you hear thunder, you are in striking distance of lightning,' said Christy Climenhaga of Environment and Climate Change Canada. Article content And even if you can't hear thunder, don't assume you're safe outside.
CBC
3 days ago
- CBC
Canadian Armed Forces firefighting crews to arrive in Sask. by Saturday
Roughly 300 personnel from the Canadian Armed Forces are set to arrive in the province by Saturday to assist with wildfire operations, Saskatchewan's Public Safety Agency has confirmed. During a provincial update on Thursday, Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) President Marlo Pritchard said the Type 3 fire personnel will be deployed to a number of different fires across the province, freeing up Type 1 and Type 2 personnel for more serious fire areas. "We understand they will be arriving within 36 to 48 hours," Pritchard said. An advance team from the Armed Forces are already in Prince Albert planning where the contingent will be sent. The news came shortly before the province issued a wildfire evacuation notice for Ramsey Bay Northern Resort Subdivision and Ramsey Bay Campground, which are on Weyakwin Lake, about 140 km north of Prince Albert. A fast-moving wildfire is threatening the community and residents are being asked to start evacuation immediately. The province says individuals who can self-evacuate and find their own accommodations should use Highway 2 and register with the province. Individuals who require accommodations are being directed to room 106 at the Days Inn in Prince Albert. More resources arriving soon Public Safety Minister Tim McLeod formally requested assistance from the federal government on Wednesday. Type 3 firefighters are hired on an emergency basis and generally work in less intense conditions, when a wildfire has already been contained or is under control, according to the SPSA. Type 2 fire crews provide firefighting and response services in Northern Communities or First Nations while Type 1 fire crews are trained and experienced staff familiar with wildland firefighting tactics. Pritchard confirmed Canadian Armed Forces personnel would be used for with wildfire mop-up operations, related logistical support for the new fire crews, and helicopters for bucketing and crew movement. McLeod had also requested water haulers to help with wildfire mop-up and fire mitigation and protection kits containing sprinklers and hoses to help protect structures in various communities. Those are not going to be provided by the federal government, Pritchard confirmed. Federal Emergency Management Minister Eleanor Olszewski has confirmed helicopters are being sent along with the Armed Forces personnel. The SPSA has faced criticism from wildfire-affected communities for not requesting federal assistance sooner. On Thursday, Pritchard defended that decision, saying it was about getting the "right resources at the right time." "Over the last number of weeks we have seen significant work done by our Type 1s and Type 2s, we've seen cooler weather, so our fire activity is less," Pritchard said. Those factors mean its now safe to deploy Type 3 fire crews, such as the incoming military personnel, Pritchard explained. Along with the Armed Forces personnel, various countries and other Canadian provinces have provided Saskatchewan with Type 1 fire personnel and Type 2 fire personnel. Pritchard said New Brunswick has recently deployed 22 Type 1 fire personnel to Saskatchewan. They joined 41 firefighters from Mexico, 41 firefighters from Australia, 22 firefighters from Nova Scotia and 12 personnel from Ontario that were already in the province. Pritchard said an additional 41 firefighters are expected from Quebec late on Thursday or on Friday. Métis Nation-Saskatchewan welcomes federal support On Wednesday, Métis Nation-Saskatchewan (MN-S) announced that it had declared a state of emergency in the province's northwest as a result of the wildfires. Northern Region 3 includes Green Lake, Pinehouse, Île-à-la-Crosse, Beauval, Jans Bay, Cole Bay, Dore/Sled Lake, Patuanak, Canoe River, and Sapawgamik. MN-S and its members are concerned about the province's response to the wildfires, Brennan Merasty, a regional representative for the MN-S region told CBC on Thursday. Local leadership "would like to be invited to the space with the province to have a conversation on the approach, their methods and how do we bring our traditional knowledge to the forefront," Merasty said. He also said that MN-S is ready to host evacuees in Batoche, Sask., a community much more familiar to evacuees than where they may be currently staying. Merasty said they have hosted wildfire evacuees before and are capable of doing it again but need to have access to funding from the SPSA. Merasty welcomed the news that federal assistance had been requested and will soon be deployed but said MN-S needs to be part of the conversation. "The province can't do this alone, just like we can't as a Métis nation. We have to all come together, join forces, strengthen our position and do it together," Merasty said. Pritchard said he had not met with MN-S officials recently but is "always" open to having those conversations." State of wildfires in Saskatchewan As of 2:30 p.m. CST, there are 10 communities in the province under an evacuation order. There are 55 active wildfires with five categorized as being contained, 14 not contained, 18 ongoing assessment and 18 protecting values. The latest figures mean there have been 392 wildfires in Saskatchewan in this year to date. That's well above the five-year average of 319 to date. Ten communities remain under evacuation at this point, with Pritchard confirming approximately 3,000 people remain evacuated at this time. Approximately 1.8 million hectares of land in Saskatchewan has burned as a result of wildfires this year.
Global News
3 days ago
- Global News
From tree cover to green roofs, how are cities fighting extreme heat?
As a heat wave grips parts of Ontario amid a scorching summer, some Canadian cities have been trying new techniques to try to tackle extreme heat, which can quickly turn deadly. A Statistics Canada study last year showed there were roughly 670 deaths between 2000 and 2020 attributable to extreme heat events in 12 Canadian cities. In 2021, a heat dome in British Columbia killed an estimated 619 people in one week. And this week, temperatures in parts of Ontario are set to feel like the mid-40s C — and cities can feel the heat keenly due to how they're built, experts say. 'The surfaces in the cities are such that they absorb more heat and that causes the entire environment to become hotter and the temperature rises as well,' said Sandeep Agrawal, a professor at the University of Alberta's School of Urban and Regional Planning. Story continues below advertisement It's due to the 'urban heat island effect,' which can make a city one to three degrees hotter than the surrounding area during the day and warmer at night, according to decades of urban studies. Among the reasons are glassy or concrete skyscrapers that absorb a lot of heat during the day and take longer to cool down at night. James Voogt, a Western University professor of geography and environment, said heat is a top 'weather hazard.' 'Our ability to physiologically respond to those is relatively slow,' he said. From increasing tree cover to installing 'green' roofs, here's how some Canadian cities have been trying new techniques to try to tackle extreme heat. What's been done to cool cities down so far? A study by the European Commission in 2023 found that increasing tree coverage to 30 per cent in European cities could lower temperatures by an average 0.4 C, with a maximum effect of 5.9 C in some areas, avoiding 2,644 premature deaths. Story continues below advertisement Planting more trees is one approach some Canadian cities are using. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Toronto plans to increase the number of trees covering streets to 40 per cent canopy cover by 2050 by planting about 120,000 trees a year. 'So you want to make use of strategic planting of trees to try to take advantage of the fact that a tree cools by shading a surface and a tree cools by evapo-transpiring water,' Voogt said. 'So if you strategically locate your tree well, you can get maximum benefit.' In May, Vancouver approved an update to its urban forest strategy with a goal of covering 30 per cent of the city with tree canopy by 2050. 1:55 'Wet-bulb' temperatures: What are they and why can they be so deadly? Trees take time to grow, but they can still benefit cities in the long term, said Sara Barron, program director for the Master of Urban Forestry Leadership Program at the University of British Columbia. Story continues below advertisement 'That immediate impact, it's not going to help maybe with next year's heat wave, but we know climate change is a shift that's going to be happening for years,' she said. Voogt cautioned that it may be difficult to just dig up areas of downtown Toronto to plant trees, but green roofs are an alternative. The Urban Land Institute said green roofs replace dark surfaces with soil and vegetation, noting that the 'greening' of five per cent of Toronto's area lowered citywide temperatures by an estimated 1.5 to two degrees. Toronto implemented a green roof bylaw in 2009, requiring new commercial and industrial developments of more than 2,000 square metres to incorporate them. Other cities have also taken steps, including Saskatoon, which offers a stormwater credit for commercial buildings with green roofs, and Port Coquitlam, B.C., which fast-tracks development applications that incorporate green roofs. There are also other techniques cities are using outside of Canada. The Spanish city of Murcia implemented 61 measures to adapt to extreme heat, including resurfacing dark asphalt roads with lighter-coloured materials to reflect sunlight, with Dallas doing something similar by installing reflective pavement. The Texas city has also required new buildings to use materials that reflect solar heat on at least 75 per cent of the surface or have 50 per cent of the roof covered by vegetation. Story continues below advertisement Still more to do, experts say While some cities have taken steps, Agrawal said 'better design' is needed. 'So incorporating more vegetation, vegetation cover and tree canopies, (and) permeable material within the built environment I think would lead to a more sort of sustainable and cooler environment than the current way of doing it, where it's sort of a patchwork of things being done,' Agrawal said. Barron noted changes like using lighter material for roads to lower heat absorption and adding water where you can, such as water fountains, can make a difference. 1:59 'Extremes you never want to be at': As temperatures spike, so do health hazards Using misting systems can also help with cooling, which she said has been used in places like Australia. The systems are set up to spray a mist of water around an area, or to let people walk through them to cool down. Story continues below advertisement Voogt said city planning can also improve how it handles heat, though he said that is a longer-term solution. 'So changing the form of the city, the way it's laid out, how the buildings are spaced, that's longer term, right, because you don't change the buildings that often,' he said. 'What we have to do is start thinking about cities that are a little bit more optimized in terms of the climate they're embedded in.'
