Buildings throughout Yellowknife shook briefly on Monday afternoon, the apparent product of a blast at a quarry west of the city.
The blast was reported by residents throughout the city.
Clinton Westgard, of CJ Contracting, confirmed a blast had just taken place at a quarry the company operates. The firm has a quarry around 3.5 km west of the intersection between Highway 3 and Deh Cho Boulevard.
Blasting is a relatively common activity around Yellowknife, but the shockwave passing through buildings just after 1pm on Monday felt uncommonly strong.
In its immediate aftermath, Facebook lit up with dozens of reports from across the territory’s capital.
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At Yellowknife’s airport, the only indicator of any concern was an individual remarking over a publicly available air traffic control frequency that the blast had “scared the crap out of us.”
One longtime resident writing to Cabin Radio said: “We have been here 30 years and have never felt that before.”
No further blasting was immediately scheduled, Westgard said.
