Hit & Miss For Local Businesses As Storm Hits On Long Weekend

May 25, 2022

Hit and miss at local businesses as storm hits on the first major weekend of the season

When the storm hit, Mayor Higgins and his wife Wendy happened to be out, with dozens of others, playing golf at Hunter's Creek, near Cloyne.

“When I saw the clouds rolling in, I went out and called all of the golfers into the clubhouse, said club co-owner Cynthia Kennedy. “They made it back just as the storm started blowing trees down all over the course, and on our laneway.”

One couple, who decided to leave just as the storm was coming in, ended up being blocked in by falling trees in front of, and behind, their vehicle. They left their car and managed to get back to safety.

“A tree did hit their car after they got back here,” said Kennedy, “it's lucky they weren't in it.”

It took a few hours to clear the lane way after storm, and there were still trees down on the course the next day, but the course was open, as early as Sunday.

“The trees that were still on the course became temporary obstructions,” said Kennedy.

Just across Road 506, from the Hunter's Creek laneway, Sherwood Park campground faced the brunt of the storm. Along the fence line that runs between the property and the highway, it is a jumbled mess of trees covering the fence, knocking out the hydro poles on the property. Sections of the campground have trees smashed through trailers, although it is remarkable how many of them remain unscathed, as massive trees and debris hit on all sides.

Resort owner Dan Vaillancourt was in a utility garage at the site when the storm hit.

“We were about 95% full. It was a beautiful, sunny day for our opening weekend BBQ, which we were preparing for.

“The storm came through, sounding like a freight train, and everybody ran for cover. It seemed like a long time, but it came though in less than a minute. And this is what it left,” he said, pointing to downed trees in one section of the park.”

The park is not that large, but there are sections of it that are completely unscathed, and others that are devastated, as the wind came through in a narrow band.

The house where Vaillancourt and his wife live, and their own trailer. were undamaged, even though some massive trees were down all around both of them.

Others were not so lucky. A tree came down through one trailer and knocked out one of the campers. He suffered a head injury, and an ankle injury, and was rushed to hospital. He is dealing with a concussion, and his ankle required an operation on Monday.

“Other than that, we were very lucky to have no injuries,” said Vaillancourt. “We rushed around to every campsite to make sure everyone was there, and was okay. Of course, we cancelled the BBQ right away. But once we found everyone, we figured that we had all the salads prepared, hamburgers all ready to BBQ, we decided at 6 o'clock to have the BBQ after all. We weren't going to be able to clean everything up that night anyway, so we went ahead. And everything got eaten.”

The impact on Sherwood Park, and the trailer owners who suffered damages, is something else. The private power company that Vaillancourt works with, was out surveying the damage on Sunday, and a tree company from Renfrew will be up with a crane and a crew on Wednesday and Thursday to clear the fallen and uprooted trees.

“You can't just clear all this out with chainsaws alone,” said Vaillancourt,” pointing to the jumble of large trees and branches on the ground, and hanging up in the trees that are still standing, many of which will need to be removed as well.

“Some of our campers are telling me we will have to rename the place Bright Skies Park when all of it is cleaned out,” he said.

The way the storm hit, many neighbouring businesses along Highway 41 suffered only minor damage, and those business owners, as well as community members, have been arriving at Sherwood Park with supplies, ready to help out.

“This is a great community,” he said, “people do whatever they can for each other. This won't stop us.”

He said that he is “insured to the hilt” and has made sure to take pictures of everything before cleaning up, but that repairs will cost $50,000 or more for him, and that is only for the park itself, as the owners of of the camp trailers will deal with their own costs and their own insurance.

“The crane and crew will cost 8 or 9 thousand dollars per day, so it adds up,” he said.

But while he is shaken up, the storm has not shaken his enthusiasm for Sherwood Park. “I love it, nothing changes that,” he said.