People in parts of Alberta witnessed some scary moments Saturday evening as Environment Canada issued a tornado warning for Lac La Biche at 5:30 p.m.
The weather agency said a tornado was spotted near Lac La Biche and was moving northeast.
An Alberta Emergency Alert was also sent out to people in high-risk areas, including people at Franchere Bay Campground.
The Kay family was among them, and said intense rain and hail came down for about 10 minutes at dinnertime. The awning on a neighbouring trailer was ripped off.
Ten-year-old Olivia was hiding.
“I was scared, my cousin was scared, my brother was scared, everyone was pretty scared,” she told Global News.
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“I was scared. I thought something was going to blow away. It would be cool. I mean, I don’t want to blow away, but I want to see something blow away.”
Her dad Mark said seeing his normally unflappable daughter worried shook him too.
“The look in her face was clearly fear. This is a girl who does roller coasters… anywhere. To see her scared was a shock. It puts it in perspective.”
Mark, 37, said he’s never been that close to a storm.
“It had the alert: ‘In your area, take shelter, get down.’ I’ve never seen that,” he said. “Never ‘in your area’… That was definitely something new to experience.”
Mark said they were cooking dinner and all of a sudden the whole sky turned dark except for one spot.
“Hearing the whole campsite light up with the sound of that warning was kind of creepy.
“Everyone was going: ‘Is this real?'”
On Sunday, Lac La Biche County said no major damage was reported but crews were busy cleaning up downed trees, power lines and fences.
Emergency crews helped free a couple of campers who were barricaded inside their travel trailers because of fallen trees.
One person suffered minor injuries.
The county said lightning from the storm also sparked several new wildfires in the area.
There were thunderstorm warnings and watches in place for much of the province.
There was also a tornado watch for Fort McMurray.
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