05/05/2026
When people think of emergencies of in Alberta, they often picture wildfires. While it's true Alberta has it's fair share of wildfires, the reality is much broader. Like the infographic shows, Alberta faces a wide range of natural, technological, and human-caused risks, many of which have already happened right here in Strathmore.
Let's do a bit of a jump back into time. July 10, 1924 started off as a pleasant day. The skies were clear, the birds were singing, and being the fourth day of the Calgary Stampede, spirits were high. It was also the day a massive fire wiped out half of Strathmore's entire business section.
In the late afternoon, a fire broke out in the Opera House on Main Street after an old oil stove exploded, throwing burning kerosene across the floor of the wooden building. Within minutes, the Opera House was a mass of flames. Aided by high winds, the flames tore through the building and jumped across the street, wiping out businesses on both sides. Calgary firefighters and local helpers pumped water from the nearby CPR lake until 2 a.m. before the fire was finally out. While nobody was injured (a miracle in it's own right), total losses were estimated around $100,000. For today, that would be around $1,859,000.
Emergencies can happen in Alberta anywhere, anytime. Strathmore is no exception. Are you prepared?
