          
|
July 14, 2000
It was friday afternoon, Jason and I had packed our bags and supplies the night before so that we could leave for
Pine Lake right from work. As soon as we could get free from the shop, we headed up the Deerfoot and arrived at
Pine Lake around 6:30. Jason and I had been commenting on the dark clouds in the sky, and were debating whether
or not they might be hail clouds since they were so thick. Jason thought that hail clouds were white, so we didn't
figure we'de get any hail. We got to Sandy Cove and stepped into the store to sign in for the weekend, and the lady
asked how we were. I told her I had been fine until I saw the clouds and she laughed and said they'd probably just
blow over. We all hoped they would so we could get the Seadoo out on the lake. Looking at the water though, I said
to Jason, "There's going to be a storm!" Which was not unusual for Pine Lake, I'de seen the water choppy like that
before, and although the clouds looked rather dark, we just figured we were in for a heavy rainstorm. On the radio
we heard on the way in that there was a severe thunderstorm warning, but we just figured it was going to rain
really hard. So we pulled the car up the road and parked on the hill overlooking the lake. As we sat and talked
in the car it started to rain, and after a few minutes I noticed a lot of splashing in the lake and all of a
sudden realized it was hailing. I told Jason we should tape this, so we picked up the video camera and started
recording the lake. It was difficult though, because we had to roll down the window to tape, the camera kept
getting wet as well as myself and the car so we rolled up the window and so we stopped taping until the cloud
lifted. Over the lake though, it just looked like a low cloud or a fog on the water. It wasn't swirling, turning,
hardly even moving really. We couldn't tell where the water ended and the sky began, it was all one color. Little
did we know that it was an F-3 tornado! So we sat there, watching hail pelt the car, we thought little of the patio
chair that blew off the deck of a nearby campsite and struck our car, nor did we pay special attention to the firepit
lid that also hit the car. Even when the car started to lift up on the driver's side up and extend the shocks. We had
no idea what was actually going on. The entire storm lasted not more than 20 minutes, and as it calmed down and the
wind stopped, we got out to assess the damage to our car. It was then that we noticed everal, and then MANY boats
floating in a line across the lake. After the hail and rain subsided, I wanted to go take a look at Green Acres so
I pulled out the Seadoo and started towards Green Acres. Dodging boats, trailer debris, and trees in the water, I
slowly made my way to Green Acres, but as I got closer I turned around and tried Jason to come with me and bring
the camera. He didn't want to change and find a life jacket and all that, but handed me the camera instead. So I
started taping as I headed back towards Green Acres, and then landed on the beach. It was like being a
t a completely different campground, the area was barely recodnizable. I found the coffee shop, the deck completely
missing and all the arcade games strewn across the deck pad and the ground beside it. I taped things as I walked
around I taped what I saw but like many of the people I saw there, was stunned. I found several familiar landmarks,
but even most of them were covered with trailers or at least trees. I found Jenna's trailer, and it looked like
someone struck it from behind and it splintered as it fell into the lake beside it. I talked to Jenna the next day,
(I didn't realize she was there) and her and her dad were in the coffee shop when it happened, and her mom was
actually in the trailer when it went into the lake. Her brother somehow got his stomach torn open and had to be
air-lifted to Stetler to get stitched up. When I returned to Sandy Cove, we had been informed that the roads were
blocked by fallen trees, there was no power or water. So we set up our tent, bought some hot dogs on credit at the
store. The lady who owns the camper across the road from our tent site gave us wood and we had a fire. We cooked
the hot dogs but not long after that it started to rain again. We got into the tent and started playing card games
and 5 minute mysteries. It rained but we were dry. The next day we packed up and left for Red Deer because there
was really nothing we could do, either to help or to relax. BACK to Journal Index |