Minister recounts deadly Pine Lake tornado that swept son from his arms
Posted Jul 14, 2015 2:08 pm.
Last Updated Jul 15, 2015 4:01 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
It was 15 years ago.
One second he was in his arms and the next he was gone.
Jamie Holtom’s life changed on July 14th, 2000 when his two-year-old son Lucas was ripped from him and into the tornado that devastated Pine Lake, Alberta, killing 12 people and injuring 140 more.
The Brampton minister and his family were visiting friends in the area when the storm hit.
“It was like an explosion, we were in the eye of the storm,” he said looking back on the day when the twister hit the Green Acres campground.
“It took time for the reality to sink in, you’re just in shock,” he said. “It’s 15 years later and there’s still a piece of it that just seems surreal, just seems like it couldn’t be possible.”
Along with the loss of life, the disaster caused over $3 million in damage, making news across the country and into the United States.
It now stands as the fourth-deadliest tornado in Canadian history.
Holtom said there is no way he and his family could’ve gotten through the tragedy without a support network.
“I don’t know how people do it when they don’t have people around them like that. In our case it was the church,” he said. “I think when you go through something like that, there’s a deeper appreciation for life and the gift that it is, how fragile we are and how quickly life can change.”
That deeper appreciation sparked the Lucas Holtom Carnival, an annual event in Brampton that draws thousands for a day of free family activities. The event is also a way to celebrate Lucas’ life and honour other families who have lost children.
“We never dreamed that it would become just so big and I don’t even mean size,” he said. “How big the hope that it brings, there’s just a real sense I think for everyone in the park that it’s a very special event.”
“I hope and pray that people might catch enough from this to know that they’re going to make it, to not give up, that they’re going to be okay,” he said. “For us, that was really important, right afterwards, just to hear that from other people that have survived a loss like this. That you could still have life and it’s not that you forget about the person, they’re still very much a part of your life, but that you can still have a good life.”
