Barry Butler says campers were flipped over and trees were uprooted after a storm tore through Meadow Lake Provincial Park. (submitted photo/Barry Butler)

By Tyler Marr

SEVERE WEATHER EVENT

‘Trees started folding over like toothpicks’: High winds, possible tornado hit parts of Meadow Lake Provincial Park

Jun 29, 2019 | 8:18 PM

Campers enjoying the long weekend in Meadow Lake Provincial Park say high winds and a possible tornado hit an area north of Goodsoil Saturday evening that flipped trailers, snapped trees and forced residents to take cover and flee.

Donald Achanga and his family were on their first camping trip of the year after purchasing a trailer three weeks ago.

They were on a walk along the lakefront and became trapped under a gazebo when the storm hit. Achanga said he saw dark clouds roll in before hail started to fall. Within seconds, he said the wind picked up and trees started to snap like toothpicks without making a sound.

A friend grabbed and flipped over a picnic table for cover as trees and wood started to fly everywhere. He and his wife started to get pelted with marble-sized hail so he huddled everyone together and covered them.

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“It was so surreal it was like being in a movie. Trees with like a 30-inch diameter folded over like nothing,” he said. “It was beautiful and then suddenly there was nothing there. … Everything was just folded right over.”

As they went back to their camper once everything calmed down, the family checked tents, some which had logs through them, and tried to help others.

“There was a lady trapped in her camper and they had to saw her out through the roof,” he said.

A trailer sits damaged from a storm that tore through Laumans Landing in Meadow Lake Provincial Park. (submitted/Durelle Demuth)

The family was taken to the Goodsoil Recreation Hall, which was opened to those impacted by the storm. Achanga said they were welcomed with open arms and the experience has restored his faith in humanity.

“Everyone, they were right in there. Everybody, even people who were hurt, bleeding from the face, were out there trying to help each other,” he said.

Achanga’s truck is damaged and not drivable so the family has no way home and have to try to figure out what to do with the truck and trailer in the coming days.

A volunteer at the hall in Goodsoil told meadowlakeNOW about 102 people had registered as of 10:30 p.m. They said about 35 people had been sent to private homes, the bed and breakfast and hotels to stay the night. Warm clothes, blankets and food were being handed out to those in need.

The Goodsoil Recreation Hall has been opened to those impacted from the storm that tore through parts of Meadow Lake Provincial Park. (Nikita Ganovicheff/meadowlakeNOW Staff)

Melissa Kuzior was with her family visiting Lac des Îles Saturday afternoon before the storm hit. They were in a spot overlooking the lake when they saw a water spout develop. She said moments later, the water started to rise and the “massive mess” unfolded.

As Kuzior, her husband, daughter and daughter’s friend got in their vehicle to leave and head back to Goodsoil, trees started to come crashing down. She said deer and other animals were running across the road to escape and significant hail started to fall.

“My husband kept saying it was going to be fine. … We are okay,” she said. “My daughter and her friend were in the back and they were bawling. They were scared. They didn’t know what to expect.”

Her husband and a number of others returned to Murray Doell Campground with chainsaws as a number of people were said to be trapped in campers.

“My husband did text me not long ago. I asked him how things were going out there and he said not good,” she said.

Dozens of emergency personnel and volunteers are on scene helping those impacted by the storm. (supplied photo/Melissa Kuzior)

She has heard of injuries but could not speak to the severity.

Just before 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, STARS Air Ambulance sent out a tweet saying they were dispatched to the Meadow Lake area.

The Saskatchewan Health Authority has confirmed three people were transported to hospital with non-life threatening injuries following a severe weather event at the campground.

Damage from a storm that tore through Meadow Lake Provincial Park. (Nikita Ganovicheff/meadowlakeNOW Staff)

Barry Butler, who works with a property development company at Laumans Landing, became stuck in the middle of it all.

He said at around 4:45 p.m., he was looking at a lot a family member had purchased when the storm hit.

“Suddenly, we felt the wind change and I said we need to get to the car and by the time we got to the car it had hit,” he said. “We tried getting away from the trees but they were blown down all around us.”

Butler said he has experienced a plow wind go through the area before but said this one “felt different.”

“This one felt like the wind was coming from every direction,” he said. “This one knocked over trailers, tore slides off of trailers and ripped a part of a roof off of a house. I’ve never seen that before.”

As he watched trees fly around and heavy rain come down, all he was thinking about was his grandchildren, as they were in a separate vehicle because when they were leaving a tree fell down between them. He said their car did get hit by a tree and sustained some damage but everyone was okay.

“I just found out I had a friend that was injured and so I am just concerned for everyone,” he said.

— with files from Nikita Ganovicheff, CBC Saskatchewan

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tyler.marr@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @JournoMarr