Black Diamond ~ June 23rd

Bridge washed out in Black Diamond.

This channel and road washout was caused by the force of the river re-routing itself.

Pam Jones photos

Pam Jones, Editor, Gazette Grassroots

I spent today touring the town and noting the devastation but what impressed me the most was the number of volunteers that I saw who were the same ones that were there last Thursday and Friday and Saturday! This community is so fortunate to have such a dedicated group of people and many have had very little sleep since this all started.


Peace Officers, Jim Berry and Vicki Bolton and the firemen under the experienced eye of Chief Jamie Campbell have done such a great job! This community will never be able to thank you enough. Vicki has only been with our community for four short months but the compassion and concern she showed to perfect strangers was outstanding.

I spent three hours this morning at the Lions Campground in Black Diamond watching a dedicated group of people assist the owners of the remaining units get them out of the campground. The units were heavily damaged and many had to have a bobcat remove the build up of mud around them before they could be towed out. I also watched the fire department rescue truck pull a dumpster off a unit and supply power to units that required their ‘slide-outs’ to be retracted.

To my utter amazement one lady came out of her unit carrying a flat screen TV that didn’t have a mark on it! Most owners though weren’t so lucky and the devastation was appalling.

Thanks to an escort by Peace Officer Jim Berry, I was able to get to the northern point of what used to be the campground and take a photograph and video of the missing road to the east of the bridge. I couldn’t see the channel that had been excavated on Thursday morning because the river had chosen to make its own, new channel right from the bridge eastwards. The power line and pole dangled precariously over the gap. I commented on the lone, green stool close to the river’s edge and Jim told me that was where he sat until the wee hours of this morning monitoring the river.

Heavy equipment was located to the south furiously building a dam to redirect the river back under the bridge. This will stop the erosion of the east bank of the river, which was quickly approaching the Fas Gas area. Once the river has been diverted back under the bridge construction can begin on replacing the road and a structural engineer will be able to inspect the bridge. Unofficial reports at this time indicate that the bridge does not appear to have sustained any damage. The quick action of the Town’s Administrators getting the first channel dug will have saved not only the bridge but also a huge portion of the town.

I have met up with Mayor Sharlene Brown and all the Councillors at various places over the last few days rolling up their sleeves (and pant legs) and pitching in where ever they were needed most. The Town Administration staff, Joanne Irving, Verna Staples and David Petrovitch to name a few, are unsung heroes – working away behind the scenes and keeping the updates and information flowing despite all the frustrations of no power, phones or internet.

My next stop was at the Oilfields Arena where Sharon Hart was busy solving and coordinating another dilemma. Linda Macaulay was manning the concession and volunteers were keeping track of everything. The arena floor had every size imaginable of clothing and shoes; bedding (even a mattress); non-perishable food; cat and dog food; toys, stuffies; car seats; strollers – I can’t possibly list it all. If you, or someone you know, need any of these items please go to the arena. Bottles of water galore, both large and small can be taken from the arena for those in need. Foothills Lions Club President, James Lee, went to Target in Calgary this morning and loaded five pallets of bottled water flats and the charge….nothing…all donated!! WOW!

Fire hose supplying Turner Valley water to Black Diamond

The Friendship Agreement between Black Diamond and Turner Valley just got a little friendlier! Black Diamond now has water flowing from Turner Valley via a fire hose between the two towns. These joined hoses line the Golf Club road for about a mile. Just a friendly request – do not drive over this hose – it might look substantial but it can be damaged! We don’t need an “Old Faithful” erupting in our town.

The last stop on my tour was to the strip mall where I found several people, including our Post Office staff helping Mark and Rochelle mop out AG Foods with clean water delivered by Mr. Tesky. Mark said the “Sandbagging Queen” saved his store – two feet of water on the outside and only two inches inside! I am very sorry I can’t remember the ‘Queens’ name but I will forever remember her face.  Thank you also for taking our red Gateway Gazette box to higher ground and saving it from the river!

Mark has indicated that they will be setting up a delivery service to Turner Valley really soon – stay tuned for the details.