While I was out, I could see from a distance a major fire happening with thick black smoke somewhere in the downtown area. Initially, I couldn’t spot my own condo building, and was a bit concerned. I quickly learned that a new wood frame condominium under construction on Calgary’s 17th Avenue was on fire.
I wasn’t home when the fire started and would’ve had more black smoke and flames, but I’m posting my photo and video later on as fire crews tamed the fire.
UPDATE: I added 2 photos from the following afternoon, including one of the ember I found on my balcony which I assume is from the fire.
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- The massive fire threw smoke westward over the Beltline district, just south of downtown.
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- By the time I got home, many streets in the area were closed.
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- At least 5 or 6 streams of water were blasted against the building.
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- You can see water running off the completely destroyed top floor.
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- At one point, the wind caused the wind to engulf the area and make the fire look extremely advanced.
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- At other times, the smoke billowed upward.
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- As you can see, the top floor is nearly gone, but the lower floors still have their windows intact. I wonder if they have much damage.
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- The smoke looks like fog.
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- Several hours later, fire crews are still on scene, but I haven’t been able to see any actual flames for a while.
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- Fire crews were still on the scene 24 hours later to control hot spots. The extend of damage on the top floor is quite extensive.
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- Incredibly, I noticed what appears to be an ember on my balcony from the fire! I am about 4-5 blocks away and more than a dozen stories up.
Here is my video of the fire, followed by more angles as taken by Global News.
The black smoke is horrible!