A bridge too far?

By Lethbridge Herald on August 14, 2025.

Herald photo by Alejandra Pulido-Guzman Members of the Lethbridge Fire and Emergency Services water rescue and rope rescue teams, remove a diving board from the high level bridge Wednesday during a training exercise.

Alejandra Pulido-Guzman
Lethbridge Herald

Members of Lethbridge Fire and Emergency Services’ Water Rescue and Rope Rescue teams conducted a training exercise on the High Level Bridge Wednesday, to not only gain some valuable skills, but also to make the area safe for everyone to enjoy. 

Greg Adair, Fire Chief of Lethbridge Fire and Emergency Services, spoke to media during the training exercise and said they were working on enhancing the safety of the river valley. 

“We are doing this jointly with our technical rescue team, where they are removing rope swings and ladders from the CPKC bridge,” said Adair.  “This training exercise is in partnership with CPKC.”

By mid-morning, Adair said they had already removed two to three ladders, five to six ropes, and were working on removing a diving board affixed to the bridge. 

He added that this was done to enhance the enjoyment of the river valley, while making sure it’s safe for everyone. 

“It is a very inviting river, but this is not a playground,” he stressed. “This is a very dangerous spot within the river, with all the hazards you see around and what you can’t see bellow. We ask people to stay away from this area.”

There are many areas within the river valley that are safe for everyone to enjoy, said Adair, but the bridge area and any place near the weir are not among them. 

“And when you are using those areas of the river, make sure you have a life jacket on, make sure you are refraining from drinking alcohol and doing drugs.”

Adair said people should take water with them, plan their route, let others know where and when they are planning on being on the river. 

He also wanted to remind residents the bridge and pillars are private property. 

“This bridge is property of CPKC, and it is private property, so for individuals who are entering or climbing on that bridge, they are actually trespassing, and we don’t want that, it’s unsafe.  (CPKC) have their own police force that will enforce trespassing as it is their private property.”

He said they want to educate the public rather than keep them from the area, as restricting access to the bridge with chains or tape would take away the beauty of the area. 

“During this training exercise we are actually working in conjunction with CPKC because we are not allowed on the bridge either, without their pre-approval and authorization.” 

Wes Borland, deputy chief of training division with LFES, told media that a lot of the members taking part of the training exercise are part of both the Water Rescue and Rope Rescue teams. 

“This is a chance to get out on the CPKC bridge, a chance to train on it and get familiar with it,” said Borland. 

The teams have been planning the exercise for a couple of weeks. Team members visited the area previously to figure out how they would execute the training exercise and came up with a plan. 

“Some of our divers have reported that there are large logs under water that are jammed in, garbage, debris, and you can’t see it from the surface, and that’s what makes it so dangerous,” said Borland.