State of Local Emergency Declared After Campers Stranded Overnight in Kananaskis

Campers stranded overnight in Kananaskis after heavy rain cut off road access were allowed to leave Monday afternoon, ending an ordeal that left visitors sleeping in vehicles while waiting for an escape route to reopen.

The Kananaskis Improvement District declared a State of Local Emergency as officials worked to assist stranded visitors.

"Some road access remains limited in parts of Kananaskis Country," the province said in a Monday evening update. "We are actively working to establish road access for those currently unable to leave the area."

Officials advised visitors already in the area to remain where they were if it was safe to do so and opened William Watson Lodge and the Peter Lougheed Discovery Centre as temporary shelters. The province also urged people to avoid all non-essential travel to Kananaskis Country as emergency crews monitored infrastructure, supported campground operations and maintained road closures.

For local Kananaskis resident Hanna Beaver, the emergency began Sunday night when she and her partner witnessed a vehicle plunge into a washed-out section of Highway 40 while out driving.

"We didn't see the bridge go out, but we saw the car plummet into the water," Beaver said.

She said they tried to warn the driver, but the vehicle continued into the washed-out section of road. They immediately called 911. Beaver's partner, a firefighter, helped the occupants out of the vehicle and up to the road before emergency crews arrived.

"He was able to get the people out of the vehicle ... and the people that were involved were in the vehicle getting warm while we waited for the fire department to show up," she said.

Everyone involved escaped safely.

Minutes later, Marty Neighbour, an Edmonton-area camper spending his annual vacation at Mount Kidd RV Park, arrived at the same location while returning from dinner at Kananaskis Village.

"As we crossed the bridge, I looked to my left and I saw a huge hole on the northbound lane and a car in it," Neighbour said.

The rescue quickly gave way to an overnight ordeal. After speaking with conservation officers, Beaver learned both routes out of the area had become impassable.

"We found out that we had to sleep here last night," she said from the Mount Kidd RV Park parking lot Monday morning.

Neighbour's family soon found themselves stranded as well.

Around midnight, campground staff began knocking on doors in the lowest sections of the campground, warning campers that rising water could threaten their campsites.

Neighbour said campground staff told campers to "be hooked up to your trailer and ready to pull out in a moment's notice."

His family packed their campsite in about 20 minutes before relocating to the campground parking lot, where they spent the night sleeping in their truck.

"There was probably about 50 trucks and trailers in the parking lot," he said.

By morning, they remained unable to leave the area.

With Highway 40 closed to the south and the Smith-Dorrien Trail already blocked to the north by the earlier Canmore Hill rockslide, "there's really no exits currently," Neighbour said Monday morning. As they waited for updates, he said he relied on Alberta 511, Alberta Parks and social media for information.

"Nobody knows," Neighbour said.

Beaver echoed the uncertainty.

"We're kind of in an unknown state here," she said.

The flooding also disrupted other tourism operations throughout Kananaskis.

At the Kananaskis Mountain Lodge, General Manager Liz Harvey Smith said the property was alerted around 2:30 a.m. that nearby bridges could become compromised.

"We've been monitoring the situation, especially as the rain was coming down," Harvey Smith said.

Ribbon Creek, where water levels were rising rapidly overnight, posed the lodge's biggest concern. While RCMP restricted travel pending engineering inspections of the Ribbon Creek and Kananaskis River bridges, guests sheltered in place.

"We've got food and power and water and gas, so we can still execute on a great experience," Harvey Smith said.

Engineers later confirmed both bridges were structurally sound, allowing guests to begin leaving around mid-morning.

Harvey Smith said many guests departed once the bridges reopened, while the lodge suspended new arrivals and continued monitoring conditions with Alberta Parks.

The province said the State of Local Emergency reflected the combined impacts of ongoing rainfall, saturated ground, mudslides, road washouts and bridge damage. An Integrated Emergency Coordination Centre was established at the Canmore Fire Hall to support the local response, while officials worked with facility operators to relay information to visitors sheltering in place.

Conditions began to improve Monday afternoon when Alberta 511 advised campers at Mount Kidd they could leave Kananaskis by travelling southbound on Highway 40 over Highwood Pass. The Government of Alberta confirmed the controlled outbound route, while noting Highway 40 remained closed to northbound traffic and to vehicles attempting to enter Kananaskis.

Neighbour said campground staff notified campers around 4 p.m. Monday that crews had begun clearing the landslides and they could begin leaving the area. He said emergency personnel were monitoring a bridge south of Mount Kidd that officials feared could wash out, prompting his family to leave immediately. After waiting about 30 minutes for crews to clear one remaining landslide and open a single lane of Highway 40, they made it home safely. He said the Fortress Junction gas station had run out of fuel, forcing his family to continue to Highwood Junction to refuel.

As of publication, access remained limited in parts of Kananaskis Country. Highway 40 was open in both directions from Highway 1 to Kananaskis Village, while visitors south of the Evan-Thomas Creek Bridge were being directed to exit southbound on Highway 40 toward Longview. Officials continued to encourage people to postpone non-essential travel until conditions improve and reminded the public to stay well back from rivers, creeks and other waterways, where water levels remain dangerously high.