Calgary·Video

Tree crashes down on trailer as Airdrie couple plays cards

A mom and dad from Airdrie are feeling lucky they and their children are safe after a huge evergreen came crashing down on their trailer at a central Alberta RV park Monday evening.

Windstorm brings down many tall evergreens at RV park near Sundre

A huge evergreen tree came down on top of a trailer as an Airdrie couple played cards inside. (Mario De Ciccio/Radio Canada )

A mom and dad from Airdrie are feeling lucky they and their children are safe after a huge evergreen came crashing down on their trailer at a central Alberta RV park Monday evening.

Nelson Rose and his wife had just finished supper and were settling in for a game of cards at the Tall Timber Leisure RV Park, about 120 kilometres north of Calgary, when the windstorm started bringing down trees and power lines.

Monday night's windstorm toppled many trees at the Tall Timber Leisure Park near Sundre. (Mario De Ceccio/Radio Canada)

"The trailer started shaking really bad, and then next thing I knew, a big crash, breaking glass, and then everything got turned upside down," he said.

"My kids were actually in the swimming pool and watched the tree fall on the trailer."

Crews were still working on Tuesday to restore power to the park. (Mario De Ciccio/Radio Canada )

If the tree had fallen a few minutes earlier, Rose said the branch that came through might have pierced his head.

"The wife, she's really been planning this trip for a long time. It's really upsetting to her. She watched the tree come through. I had a my back to it," he said.

"I really thought it was a tornado, the way the trailer was shaking, and then the crash. I didn't know what was happening. It was scary."

Wild windstorm blowing through Southern Alberta explained

8 years ago
Duration 0:41
Meteorologist Johanna Wagstaffe explains the science behind the dramatic windstorm that blew through Sundre.

Manager Rebecca Trotter says she made the decision to call in emergency crews and evacuate the park when she realized strong winds were toppling trees onto properties throughout the 333-lot park.

"Every time we turned a corner, another tree was coming down, and then another tree was coming down. So, we were getting really nervous about our own safety," she said.

The park remains closed as crews work to remove the downed trees and fix the damaged power lines. 

Tall Timber Leisure RV Park manager Rebecca Trotter. (Mario De Cicco/Radio Canada)