By Josh Hall/rdnewsNOW with files from Geoff Smith and the Canadian Press

Storm leads to state of emergency in Red Deer

Jun 21, 2017 | 6:17 AM

RED DEER — Yet another wicked windstorm ripped through central Alberta Tuesday, June 20, leaving behind a mass of downed trees and power lines in its wake.

The storm blew into Red Deer at about 6:30 p.m. Within minutes shingles were flying from houses, homes were left in the dark and trees were giving in to the gale force winds.

Severe thunderstorm warnings for the region were ended just after 9 p.m. but not before a visually spectacular amount of damage was done.

The City of Red Deer has an Emergency Response Centre as they work to coordinate their response.

A state of local emergency was declared just after 12:30 a.m. due to the severe damage and vast power outages caused by the storm. The move gives the City of Red Deer access to resources from other levels of government to help with recovery efforts.

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At 11:39 p.m. the City tweeted “Power may come on overnight in some areas while others may take longer due to volume & severity of outages.”

The City of Red Deer is also reminding residents to NOT call 9-1-1 unless it is an emergency.

Red Deer’s water treatment plant is running on auxiliary power and officials say the city’s water is safe to drink.

Wind damage was also reported in Innisfail, with trees uprooted in northwest Calgary as well. Wind warnings were extended to Lethbridge and area for around two hours Tuesday night.