UPDATE: The Calgary police said that the mislabelled hazardous materials that had been left in a Manchester industrial yard for 10 days have now been successfully removed from the area. They’ve been taken to a location where the safe detonations will continue, they said.
The evacuation order for Manchester Industrial has now been lifted. The road closures and transit impacts are no longer in place.
The Calgary police Tactical Unit continues to execute a series of controlled detonations in the southeast after potentially explosive materials were delivered to the wrong place.
The City of Calgary Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) was opened to manage the disposal of the materials, which were reported as a suspicious package found in the Manchester Industrial Area around noon on Tuesday.
Calgary police and Calgary firefighters said the package was delivered to the wrong business in the area and that the materials were too unstable to move. Because of the risk of moving the materials, the Tactical Unit decided to render the materials safe with a series of controlled detonations on site, CPS said.
The infrastructure to do this was set up on Tuesday, with work on the site continuing through Wednesday. CPS acknowledged there would be disruptions in the area, including loud bangs, fire, and bursts of smoke.
“At this point, it is unknown how long it will take to safely dispose of the materials, and we ask the public and local businesses for patience as we manage this situation,” CPS said via media release.
They are asking the public to stay clear of the area. All impacted businesses in the area were evacuated by officers who were at the scene. There is no public safety concern for anyone outside the evacuation zone.
Road closures and transit impacts are expected. Here are the following road closures:
- Westbound 50 Avenue SW is fully closed
- Southbound 2 Street SE is fully closed
- Westbound 58 Avenue SE past Macleod Trail is fully closed
- Northbound 5 Street SW is fully closed
- Eastbound 50 Avenue SW is fully closed
There may be further intermittent closures as emergency teams handle the situation. More information on traffic can be found here.
The LRT Red Line will also experience delays throughout the day. Bus routes 81 and 10 will be detoured.
No drones, please
There has been a NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) issued for two nautical miles and a 2,000-foot restriction from the centre of 4630 Macleod Trail. This includes all remotely piloted aircraft, including drones and unmanned aircraft.
Ongoing updates will be made available at a dedicated City of Calgary webpage.
