North Edmonton residents displaced after lightning ignites house, apartment complex
Some residents in Edmonton's north side are displaced after lightning struck a house and an apartment complex Wednesday afternoon.
Around 1 p.m. MT, Edmonton Fire Rescue Services responded to a house fire near 135th Avenue and 113A Street, in the Kensington area. Minutes later, emergency crews also arrived at an apartment building on fire near 82nd Street and 144th Avenue, near the Dickinsfield neighbourhood.
Fire investigators determined that lightning caused both fires, which were located just four kilometres away from each other.
"This is a bit of an unusual circumstance in that it caused a house fire, but it does show the dangers that can be posed by lightning in general," said Todd Bate, a meteorologist for Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC).
A thunderstorm had blown in earlier Wednesday, with the national weather agency projecting that it could become severe.
Alyssa Ironchild and Dallas Martin, who lived together on the third floor of the apartment building, had concerns about how intense the thunderstorm was getting.
Ironchild had taken out her phone to record the storm, capturing what appeared to be lightning striking the roof of her apartment.
"As soon as the lightning hit the building, the smoke and everything just immediately filled up all the hallways," she said.
"Trying to get out … it was so terrifying. You could not see anything in the building hallways at all, it was just so scary and it was really hard to breathe."
Ironchild is thankful for a passerby who, after witnessing the lightning strike, pulled over and helped evacuate some of the residents.
"I was trying to go to get my cat and I was just crying. I couldn't find her," she said. "He told me to go out and that he would get her for me, and he did."
Bate, of ECCC, said the agency does not currently keep records of house fires started by lightning. But according to its most recent statistics from 2019, on average, lightning kills two to three people per year, and 180 lightning-related injuries are reported annually.
Wednesday's thunderstorm didn't meet the criteria to be classified as severe, Bate said, noting that there was no heavy rain, hail, or strong winds.
But he added that storms in general can be dangerous, even if they aren't deemed severe.
"We'd still say that, when there is a thunderstorm, the best thing to do is to head inside," he said.
Bate noted that Alberta could see more severe weather events in the next few years, based on patterns the weather agency is seeing around the globe.
Displaced resident still in shock
Damages from the apartment fire are estimated to reach up to $500,000, according to the Edmonton Fire Rescue Services. As for the house, damages totalled around $30,000 and a dog living there, which did escape the flames, is missing.
In a statement to CBC News, a spokesperson for Mainstreet Equity Corp., the company that operates the apartment, said that all the complex's residents are in a hotel. They did not specify how many people were displaced.
Ironchild and Martin, whose apartment suffered fire and water damage, are now shifting their focus to finding a longer-term accommodation.
"There's no time frame really on how long this is all going to take," Martin said. "But we did call Mainstreet and they're looking into it, and they're going to try to help us as best as they can."
Ironchild said she's still in shock.
"I couldn't believe what happened [Wednesday] because you never think that something like that could happen to you," she said. "You see it in movies, right? And then when it happens to you, it's just unreal."
Ultimately, though, Ironchild said she's just thankful that everyone made it out alive.
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