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‘We were trapped for a couple of hours”: camper and family rescued after storm

Jul 7, 2018 | 12:45 PM

No serious injuries were reported after high winds, hail, and rain tore through the Lakeland region last night, but one camper said weathering the storm was a terrifying experience for his family.

Hugo Robles, from Saskatoon, was camping at Great Blue Heron Provincial Park Friday night with his wife and 17-year-old daughter. He told paNOW the storm seemed to arrive in full force all at once.

“We were getting ready to go to bed and then all of a sudden the wind started blowing like crazy,” Robles said. “Big piles of hail started falling down, and all of a sudden we started seeing trees falling down.”

According to Environment Canada, hail as large as quarters fell on some parts of the region, and the local fire department lost count of all the fallen trees after tallying nearly 600.

During the storm, Robles said a large tree fell on top of his camper, trapping him and his family inside until the storm passed and firefighters were able to get them out safely.

“We were trapped for a couple of hours,” he said. “The rescue crews came and started taking people out … We weren’t the only ones.”

Despite the tree falling directly onto his camper, Robles said the damage was very limited, and the only structural damage was on the camper’s awning. He said he was lucky to have only minor damage, as there were reports of badly-damaged campers and vehicles throughout the area.

Although the storm was a scary experience, Robles said he had no plans to end his weekend camping trip early.

“I’m staying,” he said. “I’m here, life happens, so I just carry on.”

–With files from Glenn Hicks and 650 CKOM.

 

Taylor.macpherson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @TaylorMacP