Three people were taken to hospital and cleanup efforts are underway in east-central Alberta after a severe storm swept through Wednesday evening.
On Thursday afternoon, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) posted a weather update on its website in which the agency confirmed two tornadoes had touched down.
The ECCC reported that “two separate tornadoes were observed over eastern Alberta from Edgerton to Dillberry Provincial Park.”
Emergency personnel responded to Dillberry Lake Provincial Park, located about 290 kilometers southeast of Edmonton. RCMP said a tornado touched down in the area Wednesday evening and forced the evacuation of the campground.
In an email to CBC News, Alberta Emergency Medical Services said its officers responded to the scene and transported three adults to hospital, one of whom suffered life-threatening injuries.
RCMP spokesperson Const. Sandra Geiger told CBC News Thursday morning that everyone at the campground at Dillberry Lake Provincial Park had been accounted for, and evacuees were being held at the Chauvin Health Centre.
She confirmed that some structures were damaged during the weather event.
Sergeant Michael Miller, commander of the Wainwright RCMP detachment, was among a number of officials who provided additional information about the incident at a press conference held Thursday afternoon. He said 42 campsites were occupied during the storm and added that “several” campgrounds suffered significant damage.
Six hours after receiving the first call, Miller said the RCMP were able to report on all reported campers, but poor communications coverage in the area had stalled progress.
Vermilion-Lloydminster-Wainwright MP Garth Rowswell said his government was working to help in any way it could.
He said he planned to raise concerns about poor coverage with Premier Danielle Smith and Technology and Innovation Minister Nate Glubisch.
“When you find a weakness, you try to correct it,” he said. “I think we probably need to do something.”
“Of course, it would be nice to have good communication when you need it most.”
Camper Miranda Bardick spoke emotionally about her experience trying to leave the park in her car with her children.
“I walked toward the exit (of the park) and there was a huge tornado in front of us,” she told CBC News.
Burdick said when she turned her truck around to take another exit, they appeared to be surrounded by a storm. She said trees were flying and one of them hit her truck.
“All I was thinking about was saving my family,” she said.
Bardick said she is a volunteer firefighter and knows safety is a top priority.
“I’ve been in emergency situations with firefighters, and when that happens to you and your family, it’s almost like, ‘I know why I do what I do,’” she said.
“People were trapped under the trees and I felt so bad leaving them there, but I had to get out.”
Burdick described seeing an area the size of a football field around the tornado spinning and spinning around, and said experiencing the storm first-hand had shattered all her expectations.
“The scariest thing in the world,” she said.
Tornado expert says investigation continues
On Thursday morning, Western University’s Northern Tornado Project posted on social media that it had confirmed two tornadoes touched down in Alberta the night before: one southwest of Paradise Valley, which is located about 250 kilometers southeast of Edmonton, and another southeast of Chauvin, which is located about 265 kilometers southeast of Edmonton.
Vermilion River County officials posted on social media Thursday afternoon that the tornado near Paradise Valley did not result in any damage reports.
Damage is seen at a campground area in Dillberry Lake Provincial Park in east-central Alberta on July 9, 2026, the day after a severe storm swept through the region. Western University’s Northern Tornado Project reported that a tornado touched down in the area. (Jessica Campbell/CBC)
David Sills, director of the Northern Tornado Project, told CBC News that research teams are still investigating in Dillberry Lake Provincial Park to determine the length of the tornado’s path, assess the damage and determine the severity of the storm.
He said this year has been an unusually busy tornado season for Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Across Canada, Sills said 57 tornadoes were reported, 46 of which touched down in the Prairies.
“We haven’t seen this in a long time, probably back in the ’80s,” Sills said. “It’s been a long time since he’s been this active at the start of the season.
“Why that is, that’s another question.”
He said the connection between the increase in tornadoes and weather events such as El Niño or even climate change may be difficult to determine.
Sills said the danger is even greater in places like provincial campgrounds with temporary or mobile structures.
“The photos I see coming out of the park show destroyed trailers, so in this case even the trailer didn’t make a good shelter,” he said.
ECCC is working with the Northern Tornado Project to continue the investigation.
WATCH | Severe storm damages park in east-central Alberta:
Severe storm damages provincial park in east-central Alberta
RCMP say a tornado touched down near Dillberry Lake Provincial Park Wednesday evening and forced the evacuation of a campground.
In a news release Thursday, the Borough of Wainwright said the RCMP allowed registered campers to access the damaged campground to collect personal items. The municipality said that not all properties are immediately accessible and that the removal of trailers is not yet permitted.
Kathy Delves, parkland manager for Alberta Parks, said the park has been closed indefinitely to allow for safety inspections and repairs, and all affected campsite reservations will be canceled and refunded.
“Our goal now is to restore power and restore our critical infrastructure,” she said. “We are doing everything we can to resume operations within a reasonable time frame, but until we know the scope and capabilities, we will not be able to give a time frame.”
How the storm developed
A critical alert was issued by Environment Canada at 7:23 p.m. Residents were warned to take cover after meteorologists reported a tornado was forming near Paradise Valley, a village southwest of Lloydminster.
Geiger told CBC News RCMP officers were called to the area around 8:30 p.m. after reports of a tornado.
The storm later moved east into Saskatchewan and the warning in Alberta was lifted at 8:48 p.m.
Some of the damage remained on July 8, 2026, after a severe storm passed through the Dillberry Lake Provincial Park campground earlier that evening. Western University’s Northern Tornado Project reports two tornadoes touched down in the area. (Jason and Amanda Stuber)
Benjamin Hager said he was camping with his family in the park when the storm hit and just minutes ago he started noticing strange weather.
“It only took 15 minutes before things got ugly,” he told CBC. Edmonton AM.
“Clear skies were coming in. We looked at the radar and the main thing was to the north, about an hour north.”
Hager said even when the funnel cloud was visible, he thought it was outside the park.
“It then turned northeast and went straight through the campground.”
Hager said he and his family left as soon as the weather changed but returned shortly after the storm passed and his truck windows were broken, his family’s camper was on its side and he saw fallen trees everywhere.
He said he and his family returned with saws and a tractor to help clear trees and debris from roads to allow paramedics to access the scene.
Lori Penner, who lives in Chauvin Village, about kilometers northwest of Dillberry Lake, said she watched what she believed to be a tornado spinning near her front deck.
“It was mesmerizing… almost hypnotic,” she said. “Just even watching it form like that.”
Clouds roll over the village of Chauvin, Alta., after Environment Canada warned of a possible tornado in the area on July 8, 2026. (Submitted by Laurie Penner)
Penner noted that the weather quickly changed after lightning struck close enough to her home to temporarily blind her and send her back into the house.
“Then we actually had rain and we probably had quarter-size hail — not for very long… and then the wind picked up. But it was very short-lived,” she said.
“When things get loud, get to safety.”
Sills warned that people should take tornado warnings seriously and said severe storms can develop quickly and with little visible warning.
“It’s a common misconception that a funnel cloud has to touch the ground for a tornado to form,” he said.