5 injured after tornado touches down at Alberta campground
Posted Jul 9, 2026 9:17 am.
Last Updated Jul 9, 2026 5:12 pm.
A tornado touched down at an Alberta campground Wednesday around 8:30 p.m., injuring five people.
The tornado touched down at the Dillberry Lake Provincial Campground, about 300 kilometres southeast of Edmonton near the Saskatchewan boundary. There was significant damage to trailers, and some were completely destroyed.
RCMP say the campground was evacuated by emergency services, and campers were told to head to the nearby village of Chauvin. There were 42 occupied camping sites at the time.
Every camper was accounted for by 1:30 a.m., three hours after a reception centre was established at the Chauvin Community Center.
Neil Loonen, assistant administrator for the Municipal District of Wainwright, said five people were injured. The RCMP said three people were taken to hospital. The extent of their injuries is not known.
The tornado triggered a since-cancelled Alberta Emergency Alert, at 7:22 p.m., for Wainwright, Provost and Chauvin.
Environment Canada called the tornado, which was moving at 30 km/h, a “very dangerous and potentially life-threatening situation.”
Wainwright RCMP, surrounding detachments and specialized resources were dispatched to the scene, as well as an Edmonton police helicopter. The Alberta RCMP’s divisional emergency operations centre (DEOC) was activated and assigned additional resources.
“Within two hours of receiving the initial call, DEOC had established a unified command post on site and working with regional partners began a systematic search and rescue effort,” Alberta RCMP said in a news release.
The Municipal District of Wainwright said fire and rescue departments were dealing with the situation.
“We are asking the general public to avoid the area and allow emergency crews to respond to the event,” the municipal district wrote on Facebook.
“This response demonstrates the strength of our partnerships and the dedication of emergency responders across the region,” added RCMP Sgt. Michael Miller. “Through a coordinated effort, we were able to quickly establish command, conduct search-and-rescue operations, and ensure everyone affected by this event received the support they needed.”
The Northern Tornadoes Project (NTP) confirmed the Dillberry Lake tornado was one of two tornadoes to hit southeast of Edmonton “based on video and photo evidence.” The second one, it says, occurred southwest of Paradise Valley.
“Unfortunately, the second tornado southeast of Chauvin, Alta. appears to have gone through a provincial park. A flipped trailer, tree damage and minor injuries are reported there. It continued southeast into Sask,” the NTP wrote on Facebook.
The group says a damage survey team based in Olds will make its way to Dillberry Lake Thursday to investigate.
–With files from The Canadian Press
