Billy Currington’s band was on stage when this happened. Billy Currington did have minor injuries, was treated at the hospital and released per a Candian TV station’s website: http://www.chtv.com/ch/chcanews/story.html?id=1854739 but another member of the band was reported to be trapped, then rescued with a badly injured arm. (UPDATE: I just found a pic on Twitter to confirm: http://twitpic.com/photos/bvjphotos )
Here’s the link to the story below
Final day at Big Valley Jamboree cancelled as clean up begins
Published: Sunday, August 02, 2009
EDMONTON – In the wake of the Big Valley Jamboree mainstage collapse Saturday night that left one person dead and dozens injured, the fourth and final day of the country music concert near Camrose was cancelled Sunday as distraught organizers tried to come to grips with what occurred when vicious winds ripped through the packed site.
At a 10 a.m. press conference Sunday, one of the festival’s organizers, Larry Werner, said staff had only two minutes of warning that dangerous winds were coming their way before the stage collapsed.
“I wish nobody was hurt. I wish it never happened, but it did and now we have to deal with it,” he said.
Werner said jamboree staff always monitor the weather throughout the day. On Saturday, RCMP communications warned them at 5:55 p.m. of an unconfirmed report that a tornado had touched down near Nisku with winds that might be headed their way. Jamboree staff immediately went to clear the stage and open-air concert bowl when the wind gusts hit at 5:57 p.m., he said.
Werner was onstage with a staff member at the time.
“It just happened so fast. We were trying to get everybody off the stage. We were trying to get people down the stairs,” he said.
About 100 people were on or near the stage when it came down, including one person who was killed by falling debris. Camrose police are not releasing the identity of the victim, but witnesses say it was a woman, who was crushed by a speaker.
About 75 other people were injured and two remain in hospital in critical condition.
Among those hurt was country singer Billy Currington, who was on the stage when it collapsed. He was treated in hospital for minor injuries.
Actor and singer Kevin Costner was also on the stage, getting ready to perform with his band. He was not hurt.
Environment Canada meteorologist Yvonne Bilan-Wallace said the wind was the result of a 200-kilometre-long line of storm cells that moved southeast across the area. Numerous weather watches and warnings were issued throughout the province all day Saturday. A warning was issued specifically for Camrose around the same time the storm hit the Big Valley Jamboree, she said.
A “gust front” – wind gusts with speeds exceeding 100 km per hour – was travelling about 20 km ahead of the storm that hit Camrose, Bilan-Wallace said.
Winds typically start causing damage at 60 km per hour with gusts up to 90 km per hour, she said. “Some structures are going to be more vulnerable to damaging winds than others,” Bilan-Wallace said.
People need to be aware that powerful wind gusts can be just as damaging as tornadoes, she said.
“You get them with probably the same frequency as you get tornadoes in Alberta but they can cover a huge, huge area. They might exist for hours whereas a tornado might touch down for a minute or two minutes,” said Bilan-Wallace.
“If it’s a tornado, people take notice…. But with any summer severe storm here, there’s a risk of these kind of straight line winds, these gust fronts, and as you can see they can be extremely damaging.”
Authorities were dismantling the stage Sunday and asking campers to leave the grounds.
There is no word on a damage estimate.
Environment Canada issued multiple severe thunderstorm warnings again Sunday, including a severe thunderstorm watch for Camrose.
and come New Year’s Eve, the only place to be is at the Saddlerack with Micki Gamez for the Wolf’s New Year’s Eve Party that can’t be beat!
