WESTLOCK — For the second time in a week, parts of Westlock County were hit by a powerful summer storm last Monday night that knocked down trees and left some residents without power.
Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) confirmed the storm hit around 8 p.m., July 30, and brought with it heavy wind and rain which downed many trees and powerlines in the areas in and around the Village of Clyde.
“There were some severe thunderstorms that were passing north of Edmonton through the Westlock area near Clyde and there was a severe thunderstorm warning put out for this (event),” said Edmonton-based meteorologist Samantha Mauti, noting there were no reports of a tornado associated with that system but there was of other possible damage as she did “also see some hail reports with that storm.”
Similar to severe weather that hit the Town of Westlock July 25, Mauti did note that it was possible the storm was a straight-line wind event, “considering how much damage was done with trees being down” although there were no official wind speeds available.
Westlock County Coun. Sherri Provencal, who lives just west of the Clyde corner at Highway 2 and Highway 18 was one of several county residents who reported damage to their property.
“We do get some pretty wild storms, but I’ve been here 28 years where I live, and I’ve never had this many trees down ever. It was crazy,” said Provencal. “It was really fast. The wind picked up and within minutes it was like a hurricane. I couldn’t see the vehicles in my yard.”
The storm lasted about 20 minutes and although she did not lose power, several other nearby homes and acreages did and were hard hit.
“I literally had chunks of trees hitting my house,” said Provencal. “I’ve got puddles on top of my grass which I haven’t had since we flooded in Westlock (and area) six years ago.”
It was not the first storm to hit the area this summer, although the one that ripped through the town July 25 caused more damage than in the county, Provencal said, adding that she did have several trees down from that first storm as well.
“We had 16 trees down last week and we just cleared most of them up on Friday night (July 28),” she said, adding that more than 20 trees were uprooted in the July 30 storm with family members out with equipment to help remove them all.
Meanwhile, officials with Westlock County said there will be no drop-off location for trees and branch debris for county residents, like there was at the Rotary Spirit Centre for residents in town, but noted there are still several other options.
“Our priority is to make sure that roads are clear of debris making sure that bridges are not damaged (or obstructed with trees and branches) so people can still go over them,” said executive assistant in the CAO’s office Meagan Smith, noting it is the responsibility of residents to remove branches and trees from their acreages.
County residents can use burn piles on their property or take debris to transfer stations, which are now accepting wood again since the wildfire restrictions were recently lifted.
