
-Environment Canada has confirmed at least one tornado west of Edmonton last night.
It touched down southwest of Wildwood, but there won’t be a rating until damage has been assessed.
-Experts also say it’s very possible there had been another tornado southeast of Edson before the one near Wildwood.
Hailstones the size of apples and softballs hit southeast of Edson as well.
-120km an hour winds were recorded southwest of Entwistle, while trees were knocked down south of Lobstick.
There was also heavy rain and big hail south of Chip Lake, while Tomahawk saw intense lightning.
The power was knocked out in Gainford and street lights kept flashing along the Yellowhead west of Edmonton.
-And it wasn’t just communities west of Edmonton.
Westlock had a big storm as well.
Experts say it appears “plow winds” moved through the region, damaging roofs and knocking over trees and powerlines.
Town officials say there’s a lot of debris lying around, and if residents have any on their property that they need to get rid of, they can bring it to the gravel lot north of the curling rink at the Westlock Rotary Spirit Centre.
Bottom photo shows debris from the roof of Fountain Tire’s warehouse. A large section of it is twisted and wrapped around the framework of Boston Pizza’s patio—from about 250 metres away
(All photos are from the Westlock storm and are courtesy of John Bosman)
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-A lot of damage assessment was happening in Tofield yesterday, after about 100mm of rain fell on the community early in the morning.
It happened over the course of an hour, and overwhelmed the drainage system.
Basements were flooded, busineses were swamped, and several vehicles were partially submerged.
Some people went swimming in that water later in the day to beat the heat.
Town officials were recommending against that, given that some of it might have been from the sewer system.
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-The province says it’s looking into a Calgary medical clinic that sent its patients an email last week, telling them they’ll get to see doctors more often, sooner and for longer periods of time, if they pay annual “membership fees.”
The Marda Loop Medical Clinic says it would be about 22-hundred dollars for an adult and 48-hundred for a family.
Patients who don’t want to pay could be seen one day a week.
The government claims it’s “committed to the principles of keeping medically insured services available to everyone.”
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-RCMP are trying to find out what led to a pedestrian being hit by a vehicle early this morning on Highway 881 between Range Road 133 and Lakeland Drive.
The person died at the scene..
No other details have been released.
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-Edmonton police are investigating, after a man died in the north-central part of the city yesterday afternoon.
Police had been called about a weapons complaint around 172nd Avenue and 111th Street.
When they got there, they found a badly injured man, who died at the scene.
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-The feds announced more funding yesterday to plant 1.5-million trees in Edmonton.
The city will also be investing in the program, as the city looks to increase its urban forest-canopy.
The goal is to have two million trees planted by 2031.
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-Camrose city council has decided to take what money they had left in the piggybank for the now defunct “Downtown Camrose” group, to pay to replace the banner that welcomes people to the city’s downtown.
Anything left over once the banner has been paid for, will be set aside for renos or replacement of the downtown washroom.
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-A number of Plains Bison were released yesterday near Maskwacis, onto land owned by the Louis Bull Tribe.
It’s part of a partnership with Elk Island National Park, as they’ve been working to bring the bison back to Maskwacis.
The Louis Bull Tribe is hoping to have bison as an integral part of their culture, as it was generations ago.
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-Jays doubled the Dodgers 6-3 last night. They play again tonight at 8:10.
-Edmonton Riverhawks are on the road tonight to face the Port Angeles Lefties.
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