Town of Carrot River deals with aftermath of heavy storm

One farmer who was heavily impacted by the strong winds was Chase Wlaz of CM Seeds.

Wlaz told northeastNOW one of his grain dryers blew over, causing its gas line to snap off, which led to a significant smell. The line has since been shut off.

(Submitted photo/Chase Wlaz)

“We’re just assessing damages for now and starting to clean up. There’s nothing we can really do except rebuild… horrible way to start a week, we have three sheds gone and a bunch of bins laying down, it’s just a mess,” said Wlaz. “Everybody was pretty freaked out and glad everybody is OK.”

Another Carrot River resident, Rob Shmyr, reached out to northeastNOW to shed light on the effects of the storm.

He and his wife drove around town on Monday to witness the aftermath of the severe weather, stating it was a fairly emotional scene.

“She was crying, it’s just devastation everywhere,” Shmyr explained. “The storm rolled in at about midnight, I heard the wind was up to about 130 kilometres an hour, and it lasted for about 20 to 25 minutes… it was wind and hail and rain. I’m just going by our big community hall and all the shingles tore off the roof, you can see the back seven rafters, they’re fully exposed.”

Other things Shmyr had of note were businesses and a car wash whose roofs are now gone.

He also said that the local school may be dealing with water issues, which along with the power outage, was likely the cause of Carrot River Valley School being cancelled.

Shmyr stated one roof had even blown across the highway, but it seems that no one was affected.

“What was crazy is that I went checking fields four miles south of town and I can see bins knocked over, it didn’t just take a little strip through town, it took it all,” he added. “We have these brand new townhouse developments, I believe there are six duplexes and for two of them, their roofs are completely gone. It’s absolutely devastating and it’s clean-up time now.”

A big part of that cleanup crew is Carrot River Fire and Rescue.

Fire Chief Jordan Sinclair and his team were out in the very early hours of Monday morning, before returning later on in the day to clear all the debris.

“There’s lots of trees down, there’s a couple of roofs that have taken some significant damage and town property that’s taken some damage, so we’re just mitigating and taking care of everything so it’s not a hazard going forward,” Sinclair mentioned.

“Priority one right now is SaskPower and all the different power lines that have been affected. There are trees on power lines and there are some that have just broken. They have been here for the majority of the morning and day, and they have crews all around town that have been going steady so they can restore our power back here.”

One business that was able to still do some work without power was the local Co-op.

Their hardware department was open by 8 a.m. so people who needed equipment or supplies could come by and pick some up.

(Holly Wiens/Facebook)

“The community support has been incredible,” Sinclair added. “It’s been a good eye-opening experience for somebody who’s only been up here for about the last year and a half. To see the community come together, everybody’s willing to help each other out, whether it’s your neighbours down the street or people across town, just to make sure everybody’s OK and that everything gets cleaned up in a timely fashion.”

No injuries were reported during the storm.

According to Environment Canada, there also weren’t any reports of tornadoes touching down.

“Some parts northeast of Saskatoon and southwest of Melfort, there were three unconfirmed reports (of tornadoes) that will have to be investigated,” said Environment and Climate Change Canada Meteorologist Stephen Berg.

If those systems continued northeast to the Carrot River area that would explain the severe weather and potential tornadic activity, according to Berg. Ping-pong ball-sized hail was also reported with that band of weather.

Environment Canada meteorologist, Terri Lang, stated that it’s believed that Carrot River was hit by straight-line winds, instead of a tornado, however, it is still being investigated.

Favourable wind profiles and unstable conditions helped produce the severe weather conditions, according to Berg. He said a low-pressure system north of Melfort was the driving force for the storm formation and prolongation.

Much of the province dealt with severe storms off and on yesterday, and Berg said at one point there were seven separate tornado warnings issued in Saskatchewan.

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by northeastNOW Staff

Town of Carrot River deals with aftermath of heavy storm

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