Crews in Kananaskis are starting to assess and clean up the damage to roads and trails caused by heavy rainfall that prompted a local state of emergency for the provincial park.
According to Environment and Climate Change Canada, more than 100 mm of rain fell from Friday night through Monday morning, with the rain continuing throughout the day Monday.
On Tuesday, the majority of 1,500 visitors stranded in the park because of washed out roads were able to get out with most of Highway 40 reopening.
“We still have Evan-Thomas Bridge that’s washed out,” said Todd Loewen, minister of forestry and parks. “That’ll take a couple of days to get that fixed up, but at least people can move in form the north and from the south to that point.”
Minister Loewen said between 150 and 200 people utilized the temporary shelters set up at Peter Lougheed Centre and Williams Watson Lodge Monday night, adding roughly 50 people are still stuck near the Smith Dorrien Trail.
“We’re cleaning out some mudslides and washouts there,” said Loewen. “That should be done today but it’s hard to say. It’s an ever-changing story there as far as the big slides and how long it’s going to take to fix them.”
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Loewen says crews have been working to ensure public safety in the park, with transportation engineers evaluating bridges before allowing travel across. He says water levels are already starting to fall, allowing for a clearer picture of the damage.
“As the days go on there’ll be a little more cleanup here and there to make sure where the mudslides have happened that maybe we clean that back a little bit farther to make sure it doesn’t repeat itself in the next couple of days,” said Minister Loewen.
With Highway 40 open from Highway 1 to Kananaskis Village, the Pomeroy Kananaskis Mountain Lodge is getting ready to welcome visitors for Canada Day celebrations. General manager Liz Hovey-Smith says they’ve been working closely with Alberta Parks to make sure staff, residents and supplies can move safely through the park.
“I think it’s important that people are following the provincial guidelines, but that being said the roads are open coming in,” says Hovey-Smith.
“You need to make the correct decisions for you, but we will be taking care of the guests we have here.”
Hovey-Smith says there are trails open off the back of the property but encourages guests to check with Alberta Trails for any closures in the area before heading out for a hike.
There are several trail and campground closures in place in Kananaskis because of high stream flow. Alberta Parks says those locations won’t re-open until conditions improve.
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