A pipeline reportedly exploded west of Edmonton late Tuesday morning, sending up a large plume of flames and smoke that was visible from many kilometres away.
It happened around 11 a.m. in Yellowhead County, northwest of Edson and northeast of Hinton along Emerson Creek Road. The fire was visible from a considerable distance, including along Highway 16.
There are several gas plants and gas wells in that region and the pipeline in question is operated by TC Energy.
A pipeline fire sent up a large fireball in Yellowhead County near Edson on Tuesday, April 16, 2024.
Supplied to Global News
The energy company said it responded to a pipeline rupture involving the NGTL natural gas system approximately 40 kilometres northwest of Edson in Yellowhead County.
“TC Energy received notification about this incident at approximately 11 a.m. MT and immediately activated our emergency response procedures,” a statement said, adding the company was co-ordinating with first responders.
The NGTL is TC Energy’s natural gas gathering and transportation system for the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin (WCSB).
The system transports natural gas from Alberta and northeast B.C. to domestic and export markets. The system spans 24,631 kilometres and connects with TC Energy’s Canadian Mainline system, Foothills system and other third-party pipelines.
An aerial photo of Yellowhead County pipeline wildfire as of 12:30 p.m. on April 16, 2024.
Credit: Alberta Wildfire
Alberta Wildfire said surrounding trees caught fire after the pipeline ruptured and natural gas caught fire, so it was also responding to the blaze north of Obed Lake.
There were eight pieces of heavy equipment, 12 wildland firefighters and additional resources from Yellowhead County and industry at the incident, Alberta Wildfire said in a 3 p.m. update on the fire labeled as EWF015.
Airtankers and helicopters were also working with the firefighters but the time of year presented a challenge, said Alberta Wildfire information officer Caroline Charbonneau.
“One of the conditions that are making it difficult right now is that there is no available water because the lakes are frozen. So the air tankers have to fill at the tanker base, and the helicopter can’t necessarily bucket,” she said.
“Fortunately, we have water trucks at the site and we’re also very fortunate that there’s really good road access.”
The fire is about 28 kilometres north-northeast of Obed Lake, 35 kilometres northwest of Edson and 55 kilometres northeast of Hinton, the province said.
The wildfire could be seen from Highway 40 north and Highway 16. Alberta Wildfire and the county said they were working together, along with industry staff, to extinguish the remaining wildland fire.
A pipeline fire seen on the horizon in Yellowhead County on Tuesday, April 16, 2024.
Courtesy: Alberta Wildfire
Just before noon, the province’s wildfire dashboard said the out-of-control fire was around 10 hectares in size.
“Firefighters are fairly confident that this fire is not going to escape — except we really don’t know what the weather is going to be like,” Charbonneau said.
“We have some storms moving in which could create wind. But what I can say is that no communities are threatened at this time.”
Alberta RCMP said it received a call about the incident just after 11:30 a.m. and both Mounties and Yellowhead County fire crews were responding to the rural scene.
The affected section of pipeline has been isolated and shut down, both TC Energy and the county confirmed, and there was no more gas leaking.
“An initial ignition of natural gas at the rupture site is now extinguished. We are working to support Alberta Wildfire in their response to contain a secondary fire,” TC Energy said later in the afternoon.
The reason for the pipeline rupture is under investigation.
The pipeline is under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Energy Regulator. The federal body said it was sending inspectors to the area to monitor and oversee the company’s response and determine the impact of the incident. TC Energy said it would be co-operating with the investigation.
The county said there is no threat to the public, and crews continue to work on the scene, containing and extinguishing the remaining fire.
There have been no reports of any injuries and AHS said EMS did not transport any patients.
The wildfire risk in that part of Alberta was categorized as moderate on Tuesday, and a fire advisory remains in effect.
“It’s really important for folks to realise that the conditions are very dry and the grass is very dry,” Charbonneau said.
“So any spark, friction or hot exhaust could easily start a wildfire. And if the wind conditions are there, it could burn very quickly.”
TC Energy said the remainder of the NGTL system is operating normally and there are no commercial impacts at this time.
CALGARY – TC Energy Corp. has lowered the estimated cost of its Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico.
It says it now expects the project to cost between US$3.9 billion and US$4.1 billion compared with its original estimate of US$4.5 billion.
The change came as the company reported a third-quarter profit attributable to common shareholders of C$1.46 billion or $1.40 per share compared with a loss of C$197 million or 19 cents per share in the same quarter last year.
Revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30 totalled C$4.08 billion, up from C$3.94 billion in the third quarter of 2023.
TC Energy says its comparable earnings for its latest quarter amounted to C$1.03 per share compared with C$1.00 per share a year earlier.
The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 95 cents per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
BCE Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter as it recorded $2.11 billion in asset impairment charges, mainly related to Bell Media’s TV and radio properties.
The company says its net loss attributable to common shareholders amounted to $1.24 billion or $1.36 per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with a profit of $640 million or 70 cents per share a year earlier.
On an adjusted basis, BCE says it earned 75 cents per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 81 cents per share in the same quarter last year.
“Bell’s results for the third quarter demonstrate that we are disciplined in our pursuit of profitable growth in an intensely competitive environment,” BCE chief executive Mirko Bibic said in a statement.
“Our focus this quarter, and throughout 2024, has been to attract higher-margin subscribers and reduce costs to help offset short-term revenue impacts from sustained competitive pricing pressures, slow economic growth and a media advertising market that is in transition.”
Operating revenue for the quarter totalled $5.97 billion, down from $6.08 billion in its third quarter of 2023.
BCE also said it now expects its revenue for 2024 to fall about 1.5 per cent compared with earlier guidance for an increase of zero to four per cent.
The company says the change comes as it faces lower-than-anticipated wireless product revenue and sustained pressure on wireless prices.
BCE added 33,111 net postpaid mobile phone subscribers, down 76.8 per cent from the same period last year, which was the company’s second-best performance on the metric since 2010.
It says the drop was driven by higher customer churn — a measure of subscribers who cancelled their service — amid greater competitive activity and promotional offer intensity. BCE’s monthly churn rate for the category was 1.28 per cent, up from 1.1 per cent during its previous third quarter.
The company also saw 11.6 per cent fewer gross subscriber activations “due to more targeted promotional offers and mobile device discounting compared to last year.”
Bell’s wireless mobile phone average revenue per user was $58.26, down 3.4 per cent from $60.28 in the third quarter of the prior year.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada Goose Holdings Inc. trimmed its financial guidance as it reported its second-quarter revenue fell compared with a year ago.
The luxury clothing company says revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 29 totalled $267.8 million, down from $281.1 million in the same quarter last year.
Net income attributable to shareholders amounted to $5.4 million or six cents per diluted share, up from $3.9 million or four cents per diluted share a year earlier.
On an adjusted basis, Canada Goose says it earned five cents per diluted share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 16 cents per diluted share a year earlier.
In its outlook, Canada Goose says it now expects total revenue for its full financial year to show a low-single-digit percentage decrease to low-single-digit percentage increase compared with earlier guidance for a low-single-digit increase.
It also says it now expects its adjusted net income per diluted share to show a mid-single-digit percentage increase compared with earlier guidance for a percentage increase in the mid-teens.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
