Windstorm wreaks havoc in Claresholm, surrounding area

By Rob Vogt
Local Press Writer
Trees were ripped out of the ground, power lines knocked down, semis overturned on the highway, and countless scenes of flying shingles and runaway blue bins were observed as winds in excess of 130 kilometres per hour ripped through the area last week.
High winds began on the evening of Nov. 30 and carried on through the night into the early hours of Dec. 1 wreaking havoc.
When staff arrived at Sparta House on 47th Avenue and Second Street West, the discovered a tree had been split in two.
One half landed on the flat portion of the clubhouse roof, causing minimal damage.
“We definitely lucked out in that aspect,” said Carrie Dahl, executive director of Sparta House who was busy cleaning up the damage.
The other half crashed into a nearby parked car, shattering the windshield and denting the hood.
They immediately set to work cleaning up, and called the Town of Claresholm, because the tree was blocking the road and a power line was damaged.
The town crew arrived and had the tree cleaned up in between 30 and 45 minutes.
“We do really appreciate how fast the town did respond in cleaning it up for us,” Dahl said.
Sparta House also had a shed flattened.
“I’m just glad it happened at night when there was no one walking by,” Dahl said.
A couple blocks away, Julia Moore got up for work only to discover she had no power.
She thought no one had power.
Then a neighbour phoned. They had power so they invited Moore over for coffee.
It was still dark when she walked to the neighbour’s.
Upon returning, it was lighter and she saw what the wind had done to her backyard.
Her door was in the back alley, a shed was tipped over and leaning against the fence.
“The tree that used to be behind that shed was not there,” she added.
Instead the tree was leaning against the fence and on the power lines.
She called the power company who told her not to go near anything. They came later in the day, and cut the tree enough to get the wire out.
Soon friends came over, started cutting up the tree, and helped her and her sons clean up.
Most everything has been returned to the way it was, but Moore still has one reminder – a giant root ball from the tree she did not know what to do with.
All over town, trees were damaged, blue bins knocked over, and buildings damaged.
Another victim was the mural in downtown Ringrose Park which had pieces ripped off it, and the frames bent.
The Town of Claresholm crew worked throughout town cleaning up downed trees much of the week.
They also swept the street and were out picking up garbage that had blown everywhere from fences to hedges.

Some town buildings sustained minor damage, such as lost shingles, so the town crew repaired that as well.
Out in the Municipal District of Willow Creek, farms, ranches and acreages sustained damage, including lost trees, barns, sheds and more.
Kelly Starling, the M.D.’s emergency services manager, said crews responded to multiple semi rollovers on Highway 2.
Between Stavely and Claresholm, the wind whipped so much dust and dirt in the air, it created blackout conditions.
That led to gridlock on the highway.
Further south there were more semi rollovers.
In the Hamlet of Granum, multiple trees hit vehicles, sheds, fences and other property.
There was also a garage fire in Granum, and a grass fire in the river bottom in the Fort Macleod area.
The Claresholm, Stavely, Granum and Fort Macleod fire departments were dispatched to that blaze.
Starling wanted to express his appreciation to all the volunteer firefighters from Nanton right through to Fort Macleod for all their efforts durning the storm.
“A lot of them went 18 to 20 hours with no sleep,” he said, adding the M.D.’s staff also made a large contribution. “They worked tirelessly as well.”
Overall, he wanted to commend everyone.
“Thanks to the community for pulling together and getting through one more wind event,” he said.