An accident during a severe thunderstorm North of Edmonton has Southern Albertans asking ‘could that have been me?’
A 64 year-old man, whose name is not being released, died yesterday when part of a tree fell on him while he and his family were camping.
“The male was outside cleaning up some of their camping effects and trying to secure them before the thunderstorm rolled into the area,” said Lac La Biche RCMP Cst. Chris Clark. “At that time we had some very strong winds and it ended up causing one of the tree tops to break off, falling to the ground and landing on top of him.”
The RCMP adds this is an unusual incident-wrong place, wrong time. But there’s always a risk, given the unpredictable weather throughout Alberta.
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Camping is a popular summer activity, however camp sites are often surrounded by trees and on higher ground.
Characteristics that aren’t recommended when finding your safe space during a lightning storm.
“You want to be inside a building, but if you are outside camping or backpacking, they always say just get to the lowest spot,” said Fire Prevention Officer Mark Hoveling. “Even if you’re in a ditch, or you’re close to the ditch, just go in the ditch and wait inside there. make yourself as small as possible.”
One thing officials stress is preparing for the unknown, especially when outdoors, and that preparedness includes organizing a designated meeting spot in case of an emergency.
It’s not unusual for a thunderstorm to knock out power or disrupt cell phone service, potentially separating a group of campers.
“You should be prepared. You should know what the precautions are, where to be, where to situate yourself, where to set up your family in a safe position,” said Wade Pierson, President of In Case Of.
But Environment Canada says one of the most common mistakes is timing, waiting until the storm is right on top of you to take shelter.
“Lightning can strike as much as 25 km, or sometimes even farther ahead than the storm,” said Weather Preparedness Meteorologist Dan Koluk. “So literally you can, sometimes on rare occasions, see a bolt from the blue, where there’s clear sky overhead.”
Environment Canada adds when you hear thunder, or see dark storm clouds, take shelter in an all metal vehicle, or a building with plumbing and wiring to ground the lightning strike, and stay there for half an hour after the last rumble of thunder.
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