‘The whole sky started swirling’: Tornado touches down at eastern Alberta campground

Two tornadoes made landfall Wednesday night, one tearing through the Dillberry Lake Provincial Park. CTV News Edmonton's Noah Rishaug reports.

A tornado tore through a campground in eastern Alberta close to the border with Saskatchewan Wednesday night, forcing campers to flee and leaving several buildings and recreational vehicles damaged in its wake.

Alberta RCMP say the severe weather event struck the campground at Dillberry Lake Provincial Park, about 290 kilometres southeast of Edmonton. They said emergency crews in the area received calls for help at 8:30 p.m. Major towns close by include Provost and Wainwright.

Photos shared with CTV News Edmonton and on social media show damaged trailers, buildings and trees.

The Municipal District of Wainwright said Thursday afternoon that the weather “caused significant damage to campsites in the park, with damage reported to cabins,” that all the campers there are accounted for and that no one is dead as a result. RCMP said in a Thursday afternoon media release that three people were injured and taken to hospital, adding that campers occupied 42 sites at Dillberry Lake.

Environment Canada meteorologist Julien Corriveau told The Canadian Press that five people suffered minor injuries. Neil Loonen, assistant administrator for the Municipal District of Wainwright, says three people were sent to hospital but did not comment on the extent of their injuries.

Alberta RCMP Const. Sandra Geiger told CTV News Edmonton that police are allowing people to return to the campground to gather personal property and belongings.

‘It all happened so fast’

Chris Robinson described to CTV News Edmonton the chaotic scene Wednesday night around the campground as he and his family fled the area after spotting a large funnel cloud.

“As we were leaving our campsite, we could see the funnel cloud reforming and getting larger, still just west of us,” Robinson, who lives near Tofield, said on Thursday.

“By the time we made it to the main entry road by the park shack, the tornado had touched down and was right in front of us coming toward us along the entry road.

“The whole sky started swirling, and there was heavy rain and hail. A few massive pieces of hail hit our truck, trees started falling, we turned around and headed quickly for the day use area on the south side of the lake.

“It was raining, and there was heavy hail. We could see the tornado behind us, its path looked to be along the north side of the lake, but it all happened so fast.”

He says after the tornado passed, they spotted damage to cabins along the lake.

“Once we got to the campground road, there was a wide area of flattened trees. We could barely make it down the road back to the campground.”

2 tornadoes touched ground

The Northern Tornadoes Project confirmed two tornadoes touched down in the area Wednesday night: the one at Dillberry Lake and another that touched down earlier about 50 kilometres northwest at Paradise Valley, where project director Dr. David Sills said no damage was reported. The tornado continued southeast into Saskatchewan after touching down at the campground, he said.

Sills says his team is still trying to determine the strength of the tornadoes.

“It’s hard to determine the intensity of a tornado just by looking at the pictures,” he said. ”Sometimes, something that looks really intense doesn’t end up being that intense. It can go in the reverse as well, but these were longer-lived tornadoes, and that tends to suggest that it’s a stronger tornado.

“Certainly, some of the images coming out and the video coming out suggest that it was also on the stronger side.”

Sills says it has been a busy summer for tornadoes across the prairies.

“We’ve confirmed 46 tornadoes, and on average, it should be about 34 for the whole year,” he said, adding the national average is trending higher than normal.

Recent history of tornadoes at campgrounds

It’s not the first time a tornado has hit a prairie campground.

On June 29, 2019, a tornado hit the campground at Meadow Lake Provincial Park in Saskatchewan, about 300 kilometres north of Dillberry Lake. Three people were injured during the storm.

In August 2006, a woman was killed and three more people were injured after a tornado hit a campground at Gull Lake, Man., 80 kilometres north of Winnipeg near Lake Winnipeg.

On July 14, 2000, a tornado struck the Green Acres Campground in Pine Lake, Alta., killing 12 people and injuring more than 100 others.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Miriam Valdes-Carletti and Noah Rishaug, and The Canadian Press

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Miriam Valdes-Carletti and Noah Rishaug, and The Canadian Press