Residents clean up after wild storm

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This article was published 10/08/2016 (3574 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WAYWAYSEECAPPO FIRST NATION — Storm cleanup was underway in several western Manitoba communities Tuesday after at least two tornadoes touched down in the region Monday night.

Environment Canada and climate-change meteorologist Jason Knight said confirmed touchdowns happened between Russell and Binscarth and in Waywayseecappo First Nation around 5 p.m. Monday. There were also tornado sightings reported in Elphinstone and Erickson, but Environment Canada is still determining if the reports were of the same twister.

“Those two could be the same one, so they’re fairly close, and that’s what they’re out there sorting out right now with the damage team,” Knight said Tuesday.

In Waywayseecappo, seven houses were badly damaged, and the winds tore an eighth home off its hilltop foundation — scattering debris and household items into the valley below. By Tuesday morning, at least 14 people were displaced, but no one was injured during the storm.

Jason McKee, a school bus driver on the reserve, was outside working on his bus Monday evening when it started raining and then hailing.

“We were all outside doing things; we didn’t have the TV on or anything,” McKee said, referring to his wife and four kids, ages eight, 10, 12 and 17. “I could see the clouds getting all funky, so I went in the back where we have a little hill and I saw a big ‘V.’”

When he saw the funnel cloud just west of his property, he got the family into the basement and went back outside to grab his husky, Max. Being an outdoor dog through and through, Max refused to come inside.

“I just closed the door and went running,” McKee said, adding footage of the storm captured by his security camera, which he later uploaded to Twitter, didn’t include his attempt to get the dog, who was unhurt during the storm.

The video, which was widely shared, shows McKee’s garage roof getting torn up and various vehicles getting pushed around his yard by the strong winds. The large, yellow school bus was also flipped on its side, where it remained Tuesday.

In the aftermath of the storm, many neighbours and friends were on hand to help with the cleanup by clearing bush, bringing food and sharing a few jokes. McKee said he wasn’t surprised by the community support.

“That’s what we do around here: we just help out — no need to ask,” he said.

Just down the road, Waywayseecappo resident Sidney Longclaws was inspecting the pile of timber and glass at the site of the home destroyed by the tornado. Longclaws watched the funnel cloud touch down with his family before retreating to his basement. Luckily, the residents weren’t home at the time, but Longclaws was critical of the building’s construction.

“I think they should have basements, some kind of crawl spaces… All these homes should have a place to go in a situation like this,” he said.

Waywayseecappo band councillor Mel Wabash said all of the families that were displaced were staying at the nearby Russell Inn, and emergency lodging is being covered by the Canadian Red Cross.

“We expect more people whose homes were damaged by the storm to register with us; however, the First Nation has indicated the number of people displaced is less than 50,” Red Cross spokesman Jason Small said via email.

“Everyone who was displaced will receive lodging, food and other necessary items, such as hygiene kits and teddy bears for the children.”

East of Erickson, Dennis Tiller got stuck on the road leading to his house when a suspected tornado tore through the area at approximately 7 p.m. Monday.

“There were a few trees over the road, and I was trying to pull them out of the way — trying to beat the storm but didn’t make it,” Tiller said, adding he’s never seen a storm like this during his 30 years living in the RM of Clanwilliam.

The storm tore a wide swath through Tiller’s property, knocking over a stand of 102-year-old trees, destroying three sheds and toppling a semi trailer on its side.

“Buildings and stuff you can always rebuild, but the shelter alone — you can’t rebuild that,” said Tiller’s daughter Ashton, who was helping her father assess the damage Tuesday.

“It’s unbelievable, makes your heart sink a little bit,” Tiller said. “I don’t know where to start.”

Down the road from the property, the power of the storm was evident by the roughly half-kilometre-wide swath of forest folded over in the valley — large trees snapped in half like toothpicks.

“I don’t know how many years until we get our trails back again,” Tiller’s neighbour, Rick Proven, said while looking at the damaged foliage. “In our lifetime it’ll never be the same.”

There have been 14 tornadoes recorded in Manitoba this year, which Environment Canada says is slightly above average.

— Brandon Sun, with files from Charles Tweed and Matt Goerzen