Weather-related EMS calls climb, warmer temperatures in sight

The number of Calgarians found in potential distress due to extreme cold has grown in recent days.

EMS says the number of calls for vulnerable people in some sort of distress on city streets has spiked since temperatures plummeted on Tuesday.

And as the extremely cold weather continues, concern is growing for those remaining outside for extended periods.

Calgary EMS public information officer Stuart Brideaux says since Tuesday, the daily call count has ranged from about 10 to 15.

By Sunday morning, the number of patients crews tended to on city streets hit 75.

“In many cases, it is a third party caller that is recognizing that someone maybe is in danger, jeopardy or peril,” he said.

“But many times people do recognize there is someone that seems to be in danger or jeopardy given the weather and certainly this is something we would rather investigate first hand and determine if there is a concern or not rather than risk it turning into a much more serious emergency.”

Brideaux says that sort of caution is wise, given people exposed to the cold and wind can find themselves in peril quite quickly.

“When the temperatures are this low .. mid negative thirties or lower, even a light breeze drops that temperature another 10 degrees at least, and if the wind is even more severe, the wind chill factors make this extremely dangerous within minutes,” he said.

He says frostbite and hypothermia are some of the most immediate risks.

This comes as the amount of Calgarians relying on shelter services continues to climb, and the amount of resources also needed increases.

Read More: Extremely cold temperatures raise concerns for Calgary’s most vulnerable

However, Minister of Seniors, Community and Social Services Jason Nixon said at a news conference Friday that Calgary and Edmonton had plenty of room and could handle more people.

“Last night (Thursday) alone, we were at 94 per cent capacity in both of those cities — well below the max capacity. Nobody will ever be turned away from the emergency shelter programs,” Nixon told reporters.

In response to the extremely cold weather, the City of Calgary, the Calgary Homeless Foundation and other community partners have launched additional resources to help the city’s most vulnerable.

Two Alberta grid alerts in as many days

The province was faced with a high demand for electricity due to the extreme cold, and it forced the Alberta Electric Systems Operator to issue grid alerts on Friday and Saturday.

In addition, Utilities Minister Nathan Neudorf warned there was a high risk of rotating outages Saturday night.

The grid alert was declared over at 8:40 p.m.

The AESO says once the alert was issued, it saw a “significant” drop in electricity demand, noting a decrease of 100 MW, which is equivalent to a 200 MW reduction within minutes.

“The province-wide response to the call for energy conservation was tremendous,” said Mike Law, President and CEO of the AESO, in a new release. “On behalf of the AESO, I would like to extend my thanks to all Albertans who responded to the call for action, which ensured we didn’t have to progress to rotating outages, keeping our grid up and running for all Albertans.”

Neudorf tells CityNews he is “proud of Albertans” for reducing their electricity use. He says the province was within 100 MW of its alert protocol, meaning a “significant event one way or the other could have pushed us over.”

Meanwhile, with more cold temperatures expected on Sunday, AESO is asking Albertans to conserve energy during the peak demand period of 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Cold warning still in effect, reprieve expected Monday

Environment and Climate Change Canada says an extreme cold warning is still in effect for Calgary on Sunday, with temperatures ranging from -35 C to -45 C and windchill going up to -50 C on Sunday.

It warns that arctic air, combined with strong winds, can lead to frostbite and hypothermia “within minutes” if people don’t take proper precautions while outdoors.

“Patches of dense ice fog are occurring this morning, especially near communities, and could last until the afternoon. The fog is expected to develop again tonight,” a notice from the ECCC reads.

It says temperatures will start to moderate on Monday, particularly through southern Alberta, with the warmer weather expected to spread to most of the province by Tuesday afternoon.

The ECCC says Monday will have a high of -12 C, with windchill expected to be around -40 C in the morning, but will climb to around -20 C in the afternoon.

On Tuesday, the high is expected to climb to -7 C.

In the meantime, Calgarians are asked to shelter properly and to dress warmly.

-With files from Andrea Montgomery and Jeff Slack