Three sent to hospital after tornadoes touch down in Alberta, campground evacuated

CHAUVIN – Two tornadoes touched down in Alberta on Wednesday, toppling trees, tearing up trailers in a campground and sending three people to hospital.

Dillberry Lake Provincial Park in central Alberta, near the Saskatchewan boundary, was evacuated and campers were told to head to the nearby village of Chauvin, Alta.

Neil Loonen, assistant administrator for the Municipal District of Wainwright, said Thursday that five people were injured.

Vanessa Gomez, spokesperson for Acute Care Alberta, said three adults were taken to hospital with injuries — one in life-threatening condition.

Chris Robinson had been at a Dillberry campsite with his family Wednesday evening. An initial emergency alert indicated a tornado in the area, he said. But it was farther north, where the sky had quickly turned black and the clouds started rumbling.

He said there was non-stop thunder for a long period before the storm hit, even though it was still sunny at their campsite. They were playing cards before another emergency alert came in.

“I saw a massive funnel cloud appear then disappear just off to the west of us,” he said in a Facebook message.

That’s when they decided to get away from the area, he said.

“As we were leaving our campsite, we could see the funnel cloud reforming and getting larger, still just west of us. By the time we made it to the main entry road by the park shack, the tornado had touched down and was right in (front) of us coming toward us along the entry road.”

Then came heavy rain and hail hitting their truck, he said, and trees started falling. They turned around.

“It all happened so fast. I was prepared to drive through a fence if we needed to escape the area, as there was limited options for safe shelter out there,” he said.

They parked by some trees then returned to the campground. They saw damaged cabins and flattened trees, he said, as well as overturned and destroyed trailers.

They helped other campers until emergency responders arrived, then packed up to go home.

Environment Canada meteorologist Julien Corriveau said another tornado hit the ground southwest of the nearby village of Paradise Valley, but no damage had yet been reported there.

RCMP said officers in the area got the call for help at about 8:30 p.m.

Sgt. Michael Miller said 42 Dillberry campsites were occupied when the storm struck.

He said a search and rescue operation involved police from across the region, including police dogs and airplane support.

“As of 1:30 a.m., only six hours after the start of the incident, through our co-ordinated efforts of all responding agencies, every camper was successfully located and accounted for,” he said.

Mike Wildeboer, reeve of the Municipal District of Wainwright, expressed relief that there was no loss of life.

“Our thoughts are with those affected and with everyone working through the aftermath of this event,” he said.

Katy Delves, area manager at Alberta Parks, said the campground would be closed until further notice so staff can assess the damage.

“It took a large piece of the campground — there’s a lot of trees down,” she said.

Todd Loewen, Alberta’s minister of forestry and parks, posted on social media that all reservations at the campground have been cancelled and would be refunded.

“We will share updates on closures and reopening as soon as they are available. Please avoid the area while crews complete their work,” he said.

Corriveau said weather conditions mean there’s a chance of more severe storms in the Calgary to Medicine Hat corridor in southern Alberta, as well as parts of southwestern Saskatchewan.

Corriveau said the Northern Tornadoes Project was sending a team to investigate and try to determine the strength of Wednesday’s twisters.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 9, 2026.

Note to readers:This is a corrected story. A previous version had the incorrect spelling of Environment Canada meteorologist Julien Corriveau’s last name.