It was a frightening night for people in two areas of eastern Alberta, near the Saskatchewan border, after reports of two tornadoes touching down.
The first one is reported to have touched down southwest of Paradise Valley, about 40 minutes south of Lloydminster.
It prompted a “critical” Alberta Emergency Alert to be issued for the area, just before 7:30 p.m. warning of a possible tornado.
It was updated about 10 minutes later to say Environment Canada meteorologists were tracking a severe thunderstorm that “is producing a tornado.”
The emergency alert warned of “a very dangerous and potentially life-threatening situation.”
So far, there are no reports of damage from that tornado.
A second tornado touched down about half an hour later at the Dillberry Lake Provincial Campground — located about 75 kilometres east of Paradise Valley.
In a post on social media, the Municipal District of Wainwright said there “has been an event at Dillberry Provincial Park” and emergency responders were on scene and the public was being asked to avoid the area.
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Wainwright RCMP said the campground, located just southeast of Chauvin, Alta., was evacuated and everyone was accounted for.
The Municipal District of Wainwright said in a post on social media late Wednesday that there was an ’emergency event at Dillberry Provincial Park’ and emergency responders were at the scene.
However, researchers with the Northern Tornadoes Project confirm there were minor injuries reported, as well as a flipped trailer and tree damage.
RCMP spokesperson Const. Sandra Geiger confirmed Thursday that some of the people who were injured were in hospital, but she could not provide any information on the extent of the injuries.
The Alberta Emergency Alert was cancelled shortly before 9 p.m. after the storm system moved east into Saskatchewan.
The Dillberry Lake campground has about 40 sites — but a notice, posted on its website, says it is closed “until further notice to ensure public safety while we assess tornado damage.”
The RCMP, along with representatives from Alberta Forestry and Parks and the Municipal District, are scheduled to provide an update on the incident Thursday afternoon.
With files from The Canadian Press.
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