After more than 25 centimetres of snow fell on the city overnight, Calgary reached out to its neighbouring communities asking for support and Red Deer was happy to help.

Eight staff from the City of Red Deer’s Public Works department are on their way with two plow trucks and two graders to help clear the streets of Calgary.

“Our crew will be able to run our equipment around the clock, helping to clear Calgary’s streets as quickly as possible,” said Greg Sikora, public works manager, “Just like we do in Red Deer, the goal is to help restore essential services to Calgarians, establishing mobility on arterials and transit routes across the city.”

Red Deer staff plan to spend a few days helping out Calgary’s winter crews, but the decision to send staff was not made lightly.

“When we got the call from Calgary, we did a risk assessment to see what equipment and crews we would be able to spare,” said Karen Mann, emergency management coordinator for the City of Red Deer.

“Based on current conditions and freezing temperatures in the forecast, we came to a decision to send two plows and two graders, along with eight operators. If Red Deer’s conditions change, we will ask our crews to come back home.”

This isn’t the first time Red Deer has joined to support other communities in Alberta. Red Deer staff were deployed to Calgary to help after the 2014 flood, and to the Fort McMurray wildfires in 2016. In turn, Red Deer relied on its neighbouring communities for help to clean up after the recent windstorm in 2017, as well as during the intense snow storms in the winter of 2013.

“Red Deer is just one of many communities across Alberta, and across Canada, who are happy to offer support to our fellow communities, and we know we can rely on that same level of support when it’s needed. Calgary is a close municipal partner, and we are happy to provide support in their time of need.” said Mann.

-Submitted by the City of Red Deer