Hot News: Calgary snow knocks out power to thousands during storm

About 26,000 Calgary homes and businesses are still without power after a freak September snowstorm blanketed the city.

Emergency responders and utility workers have been scrambling to deal with power lines downed by snow-laden tree branches.

Earlier Wednesday morning, more than 70 neighbourhoods were experiencing power outages, affecting over 30,000 customers, the city-owned utility Enmax said.

Emergency crews were kept busy through the night and into Wednesday morning responding to reports of sparking, smoking power lines brought down under the weight of broken branches.

Fallen branches are also blocking many roads and m ore than 60 traffic lights are out, which is having an impact on major routes such John Laurie Boulevard, Crowchild Trail and Bow Trail, city officials said.

The city opened its Emergency Management Centre to co-ordinate calls. Officials ask that only emergency calls be made to 911 about downed power lines or other life-threatening events.

Other calls about fallen trees should be made to the 311 call centre, which has received over 1,000 calls so far Wednesday.

Officials said crews are having to prioritize, and respond to the most urgent situations.

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

'It's miserable outside, folks. Please leave extra time, drive safely, and, if you can, avoid morning rush hour travel today,' tweeted Mayor Naheed Nenshi.

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

Many schools - including William Aberhart High School, Henry Wise Wood High School, John G. Diefenbaker High School and Branton School - will be open despite the power outages, said the Calgary Board of Education.

'Where there are outages, students will use classrooms and gathering areas with natural light,' the board said on its website.

The Calgary Christian School is closed. The Calgary Zoo is also closed because of the danger posed by fallen and leaning tree branches,as is Heritage Park. The first day of competition at the Masters show jumping tournament at Spruce Meadows has also been postponed.

Air Canada tweeted a link for travellers to check their flight status and rebook online, saying change fees would be waived.

A spokeswoman for the Calgary International Airport said the snow has mostly caused minor delays, mainly associated with de-icing.

According to the airport's website, nine departing flights and eight flights to Calgary have been cancelled.

'Things are going really well at YYC,' said Jody Moseley, referring to the airport's code letters.

Enmax says power outages are affecting the following neighbourhoods:

Varsity, Montgomery, Bowness. Kelvin Grove, Haysboro, Glenmore Park. ​Eagle Ridge, Chinook Park, Bayview, Bel-Aire. Willow Park, Acadia, Banff Trail. Rural W, Rural N.W., Greenwood/Greenbriar, Cougar Ridge. Tuscany, Royal Vista, Royal Oak, Rocky Ridge. University Heights, Charleswood Heights. Westgate, Shaganappi, Rosscarrock, Killarney/Glengarry, Glendale. Varsity, Chinook Park, MacLeod Trail, Willow Park, Oakridge. Woodlands, Woodbine, Glenbrook, Spruce Cliff. Windsor Park, Meadowlark Park, Mayfair, Manchester, Kingsland. Brentwood, Mount Royal, Marda Loop. Fish Creek Park, Canyon Meadows, Lake Bonavista.

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

'This is actually in pretty much all quadrants of the city with the exception of the northeast,' said Enmax spokeswoman Doris Kaufmann.

'It has been the least touched. Enmax has brought on additional crews to assist with all of that effort getting the power on.'

Emergency Management Centre manager Ken Uzelock says the city's 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.

Calgarians all over the city have been jumping out of the way as branches fall to the ground. Nicole Duma-Lorincz was 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. A large branch landed right behind her. 'It's a little scary.'

No injuries have been reported.

Environment Canada ended its snowfall warning for Calgary just after 1 p.m. MT, but regions north, west and south of the city are still under warnings as a disturbance moves across the province.

'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.

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