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Storm unleashes fury on wide area

A small travel trailer at the cottage of Joe and Diane Moore on Island View Drive, south shore of Golden Lake, was crushed under the weight of a large poplar tree that was uprooted in Saturday night’s storm. Fortunately, there was no one in the trailer when the storm hit.
Eganville – A storm like no other in many years unleashed its fury on a large area of Renfrew County and beyond Saturday, leaving thousands off people with hydro, uprooting and snapping off trees and bringing down hydro lines over a wide area.
The storm hit at about 11 o’clock Saturday night. A heavy rain and strong winds prevailed for more than an hour while the night skies were illuminated by a display of lightning that lasted several hours.
Power outages were reported from the Combermere and Whitney areas down the Highway 60 corridor to Renfrew. Trees were uprooted or snapped off throughout a wide area. The Golden Lake area was hit particularly hard and several trees and lines were reported down, some on homes, at Pikwakanagan First Nation.
A large poplar tree at a cottage owned by Joe and Diane Moore of Eganville, on the north shore of Golden Lake, was uprooted and came crashing down on a travel trailer, destroying it. Fortunately, there was no one in the trailer at the time of the storm.
Ontario Hydro crews began the huge task of restoring power on Sunday and by mid day places like Renfrew and Eganville were back on the grid, but areas around Golden Lake didn’t have power restored until Monday afternoon. There were still outages reported Tuesday.
Several local fire departments responded to downed hydro lines and personnel reported driving conditions as being dangerous and treacherous because of the brightness of the lighting, the heavy rains and debris blowing in the winds.
While many people slept through the storm, those who witnessed it all agreed on one thing: it was the worst they had ever seen, not in terms of damage, but prolonged wind and rain. Wind gusts reportedly reached speeds of up to 100 km/h.
The Mattawa area was hit hard when the storm touched there at about 9:45. Highway 17 between Mattawa and Bonfield was closed due to hazardous road conditions caused by a massive washout and downed trees. The arena in that town was opened as a shelter for anyone requiring a safe place to stay.
The violent thunderstorm ripped through Samuel de Champlain Provincial Park, downing trees, flooding roads and stranding campers. Emergency crews rescued multiple people as nearby Calvin Township declared a local emergency. A tornado investigation is now underway as cleanup continues.
Paramedics from Renfrew County as well as the Ontario Provincial Police’s East Region Emergency Response Team and Canine Unit, fire services and military support from Garrison Petawawa were deployed to provide assistance.
Coats, blankets, water and batteries were made available to individuals affected by the closure at Champlain Park. Dozens of people were treated for non-life-threatening injuries at the North Bay Regional Health Centre.
In a related incident, two individuals camping in the northeastern part of Algonquin Park were impacted by the storm when a tree fell, resulting in serious injuries to one person. The injured individual was transported out of the park by a Ministry of Natural Resources float plane and was taken to hospital for treatment.
