Howling winds topping out at 140 kilometres per hour caused extreme driving conditions in southwestern Alberta last week, with at least a dozen semi-trucks being reported blown off the road while a wildfire in the M.D. of Ranchlands burned out of control Wednesday morning.
Downed power lines due to the extreme winds in the area are also causing widespread outages with around 2,000 Fortis customers having lost power last Wednesday, Dec. 1, according to the company.
Alberta 511 is reported multiple travel advisories across southern Alberta with travelers along Hwy. 22 were warned to expect delays due to excessive winds with the same issue affecting Hwy. 3 between Brocket and Burmis.
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Empty semi tractor-trailer units and high-sided trucks were asked to stay off of Hwy. 2 south of Calgary. More than two dozen were blown over in the region.
Agricultural buildings and irrigation pivots were damaged as a result of two days of high winds.
Environment Canada issued wind warnings across southern Alberta between the Crowsnest Pass and the Saskatchewan border. The wind began to die down Wednesday afternoon but remained gusty into Thursday.
Residents evacuated due to the Ranchlands fire have returned and the wildfire was contained on Thursday.
