Environment Canada is investigating its actions leading up to a powerful wind storm that left a woman dead and injured dozens at a music festival southeast of Edmonton, but the federal weather service is already confident it did all it could when it came to issuing warnings.
“The bottom line, at the end of it all, it's essentially an act of God,” Environment Canada meteorologist Dan Kulak told reporters Sunday.
“There really isn't a lot that anybody could have done any differently in this particular case,” he added.
Thousands of people were attending the Big Valley Jamboree, an outdoor country music festival in Camrose, Alta., when wild winds, which witnesses have described as a “huge wall” of dust, suddenly rolled through before 6 p.m. Saturday.
That was the moment the festival turned tragic for Donna Moore of Lloydminster, Alta.
Tracy Timmerman, 36, said she and Ms. Moore, also 36, drove from Lloydminster to Camrose together. The best friends enjoyed the festival last year and were determined to go again this year.
She said the highlight of their weekend was getting backstage passes and being able to meet Billy Currington, who was performing when the storm hit. Ms. Moore, who works at the Lloydminster Chamber of Commerce and has two sons aged 10 and 16, was apparently given VIP passes by someone at work.
The two women were able to watch the show from bleachers on stage, about two metres off the ground, Ms. Timmerman said. She remembers Billy Currington wrapping up his set when the skies suddenly turned stormy.
She had already reached the bottom of the bleachers when she realized Ms. Moore was still seated. She yelled at her "Donna, Donna, get down, something's coming," but it was too late.
The stage collapsed.
"I still see her standing there. I wish I could've helped her," said Ms. Timmerman, her voice wavering. "I don't even think I finished yelling at her to get down and I was under the bleachers."
Ms. Timmerman managed to crawl out and was told to get away from the stage because more winds were coming. She kept asking about her Ms. Moore but no one could tell her where her friend was.
She had a cut on her back from her left shoulder to her spine and went to the hospital to seek medical attention. Ms. Timmerman said she went around the hospital with Ms. Moore's photograph, asking everyone if they'd seen her. Later, an RCMP officer approached her and asked her to identify Ms. Moore's body.
Concert organizers said they ran to the main stage at 5:57 p.m. to postpone the popular event after receiving a warning from the RCMP two minutes earlier that violent winds were likely heading straight for the large annual gathering.
But the announcement was never made because the winds, known as “plow winds” or “wind gusts,” toppled the large stage on top of the organizers and about 100 people, including U.S. musician and actor Kevin Costner. Mr. Costner escaped unscathed. At least 75 people were injured, two critically, by falling debris, including large speakers and metal scaffolding.
It wasn't until seven minutes later, at 6:04 p.m., that Environment Canada issued a severe thunderstorm warning for Camrose and area. By that time, emergency workers and police were already searching for survivors and tending to the injured.
Mr. Kulak said the wind gusts that hit the concert grounds, which also included a campground for festival-goers, may have been travelling at least 100 km/hr.
He said the straight-line wind was difficult for Environment Canada to detect on the radar because it was travelling at least 20 kilometres ahead of the severe thunderstorm that was also racing from the west toward the Camrose area.
