Five injured after two tornadoes touch down in Alberta, campground evacuated

CHAUVIN – Two tornadoes touched down in Alberta, injuring five people and spurring the evacuation of a campground.

Dillberry Lake Provincial Park in central Alberta, near the Saskatchewan boundary, was evacuated Wednesday night 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 sent to hospital — one in life-threatening condition.

Chris Robinson was at a Dillberry campsite with his family Wednesday evening. He said an initial emergency alert indicated a tornado in the area, 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 until returning 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 was reported there yet.

RCMP Const. Sandra Geiger said officers in Lloydminster and surrounding detachments, including search and rescue, got the call for help at about 8:30 p.m.

Geiger said everyone in the campground was accounted for, and some were in hospital.

Mounties were expected to provide an update later Thursday.

Todd Loewen, Alberta’s minister of forestry and parks, posted on social media that all reservations at the Dillberry Lake Provincial 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 is 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.