Calgary snow causes major power outages during storm

Thousands of Calgary homes and businesses are still without power after a freak September snowstorm blanketed the city, and officials are expecting some Calgarians will have no power overnight.

"We are still very much in an active situation," said Mayor Naheed Nenshi.

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Emergency responders and utility workers have been scrambling to deal with power lines downed by snow-laden tree branches. They expect work to continue into Thursday, and the cleanup could take days or even weeks.

"Don't be alarmed if you hear chainsaws [tonight]," said Nenshi.

The mayor said the priorities right now are keeping Calgarians safe, restoring power and clearing the roads of debris.

Power outages expected overnight

The city says it is waiving tipping fees at local landfills forCalgariansto dispose of debris. Residents are being asked not to put broken branches in theblue recycling bins, green organic bins or black garbagebins.

There were roughly 200 reports of outages in Calgary on Wednesday. A spokesperson for thecity-owned utilityEnmax said the situation is very fluid, and more power outages are expected as more trees break under the weight of the heavy snow.

Enmax officials said they cannot put a timeline on when power will be restored to all parts of the city.

• To see the latest power outages from Enmax click here

"This is actually in pretty much all quadrants of the city with the exception of the northeast," saidEnmaxspokeswoman DorisKaufmann."It has been the least touched.Enmaxhas brought on additional crews to assist with all of that effort getting the power on."

Nenshiasks those in affected power outage areas overnight to check on the welfare of their neighbours, especially the elderly.

Emergency centre opened

City officials say there are scattered phone outages in the south end of Calgary. If a resident has no phone access, they can attend any local city building to get help.

Emergency crews arebusyresponding to reports of sparking andsmoking power lines. City officials say if you see a downed linecall 311, and if you see a sparking linecall 911.

The cityopened its Emergency Management Centre to co-ordinate calls.

Officials said crews are having toprioritizeand respondto the most urgent situations.

• Calgary snow topples tree branches, knocks out power

Police and fire crews are taping off areas where there may be arisk to people, such as a power line lying across a road.

No injuries reported

Calgarians all over the city have beenjumping out of the way as branches fall to the ground.

NicoleDuma-Lorinczwas walking to her car when she had a close call.

"I heard a crack and I didn't know what was going on so I just went running to the house, she said, adding alarge branch landed right behind her.

"It's a little scary."

No injuries have been reported so far.

Road crews to have busy night

Fallen branches are also blocking many roads and more than 30 traffic lights are out, which city officials say is having an impact on major routes such John Laurie Boulevard, Crowchild Trail and Bow Trail.

KenUzeloc, the director of the Calgary Emergency Management Agency, saidCalgary police are out on the roads directing traffic affected by power outagesand road crews have been busy clearing snow and sanding bridge decks.

• Check out the current road closures here
• Check out the current traffic signal outages here

Uzelocksays the citys priority is to get blocked roads cleared.

The overall cleanup may take a few days, because what crews are doing are chopping up any trees that are impacting things, and then moving them off to the side, he said.

Nenshi is encouraging everyone who can stay home to do so.

Schools to giveupdates Thursday morning

Calgary Transit is warning customers to expect delays because of the storm.

The Calgary Board of Education (CBE) said many schools including William Aberhart High School, Henry Wise Wood High School, John G. Diefenbaker High School and Branton School wereopen to students despite the power outages, but some parents say their children were turned away upon arrival.

"We had approximately 60 facilities without power for at least a portion of the day," said the CBE in a release. "As of 3:45 p.m. there were still 19 schools without power. This number is changing quickly as power is restored."

The school board says buses are still running and parents can get updates on "My school bus monitor."

"The CBE will continue to monitor the status of all of our schools overnight and will provide an update by 6:45 Thursday morning."

The Calgary Catholic School board also plans to issue an update at 7 a.m. on Thursday.

Several closures, delays

The Calgary Christian School was closed Wednesday. The Calgary Zoo was also closed because of the danger posed by fallen and leaning tree branches, as was Heritage Park, the Calgary Zoo andFish Creek Provincial Park.

The city says most regional parks and pathwaysare closed due to safety concerns. While many local parks are open, officials are advising residents to remain extremely cautious.

Canada Post said mail delivery experienced some delays Wednesday because of the bad weather.Some Calgary recreation facilities were also closed.

• See what city facilities are closed here

The first day of competition at the Masters show jumping tournament at Spruce Meadows hasbeen postponed.

The electrical supply on Tsuu T'inaNation just west of the Calgary city limits has also been disrupted.

"For the impacted residents, food will be available at the Spirit Healing Lodge," said an Alberta Emergency Alert. "Residents can also warm up at the Elders Lounge in the Administration Building. On-reserve schools and daycare have been closed for the day."

Airport cancellations

Air Canada tweeted a link for travellers to check their flight status andre-bookonline, saying change fees would be waived.

A spokeswoman for the Calgary International Airportsaid the snow has mostly caused minor delaysmainlyassociated withde-icing planes, but some flights have been cancelled.

Travellers are being encouraged to check their flights before heading to the airport.

Environment Canada ended its snowfall warning for Calgaryjust after 1 p.m. MT.The city saw roughly 35 centimetres of snow in three days.

• CBC weather updates

"The snowfall will begin tapering off from the north this morning, but will persist into the evening for the southernmost parts of the province," the agency's website says.