'Like a clear-cut forestry operation': Cleanup begins at downburst-hit Samuel de Champlain Provincial Park

Jonathan Migneault · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 27, 2025 11:44 AM EDT | Last Updated: 24 minutes ago

When Cameron Hockey is asked to picture the devastation from a downburst that deed Samuel de Champlain Provincial Park successful northeastern Ontario the nighttime of June 21, he's astir astatine a nonaccomplishment for words.

"The closest happening that I could correlate this to that immoderate folks mightiness person a intelligence representation of would beryllium similar a clear-cut forestry operation," helium said portion lasting successful beforehand of a gathering camouflaged by the ample conifer histrion connected apical of it.

Hockey is manager of the Algonquin Zone of Ontario Parks. Over the past week, he's been co-ordinating the collaborative efforts to wide fallen trees from the park's roads and measure the damage.

"The fig 1 precedence close present is conscionable to beryllium capable to supply that harmless entree for radical to travel connected tract and to drawback their idiosyncratic property," helium said.

Downbursts are powerful winds that descend from a thunderstorm. Unlike a tornado, which produces a upwind funnel from the crushed up, a downburst produces beardown winds that determination downward from a storm.

Hockey guesses the tempest destroyed astatine slightest 100 trailers and vehicles erstwhile it knocked trees implicit similar bowling pins.

He said it's a occurrence nary 1 was killed.

Significant damage

But immoderate campers, similar Colin Murphy of Eganville, Ont., suffered serious injuries. Murphy said his femur was shattered successful 4 places aft a histrion sliced done his family's trailer and fell connected apical of him.

Hockey said different camper astir mislaid her limb aft it was caught nether a histrion for hours. Emergency workers, who trekked done the brushwood for hours to scope the campers, were capable to escaped her, and surgeons aboriginal saved her arm.

The harm to the parkland is truthful important that Hockey said it's intolerable to accidental precisely erstwhile it volition beryllium capable to reopen.

A drone representation taken by researchers with the Northern Tornadoes Project (NTP) at London's Western University shows thousands of trees successful the park's Jingwakoki Campground were flattened.

"There's truthful overmuch worldly down close present that we really request to region a batch of debris conscionable to afloat recognize each of the impacts that this has had connected the park," Hockey said.

He said that includes captious infrastructure specified arsenic high-voltage powerfulness lines, h2o systems and buildings, specified arsenic nationalist washroom facilities.

Non-profit caught up successful the storm

Bill Steer is wide manager of the Canadian Ecology Centre, which is located successful the park.

Steer pointed to respective cabins that had their roofs destroyed by fallen trees.

Had the tempest happened a week later, much than 100 students would person been astatine the centre for summertime camps.

"That would beryllium a full antithetic story," helium said.

Steer said the centre volition request to adjacent for astatine slightest 3 months to let for repairs.

"As a non-profit, arsenic an biology acquisition centre, we trust connected operations, and truthful we don't get immoderate subsidies," helium said.

"The adjacent existent situation is going to beryllium a fiscal one."

Steer said it could instrumentality adjacent longer for the parkland to reopen.

"The parkland has to spell done an archetypal assessment, and past I believe, you know, it's anticipated a large forestry cognition volition travel through," helium said.

"And they'll commencement taking those trees disconnected the cabins and past we tin bash our assessment."