By Troy Gillard (@Troy_Gillard)

18 years since the Pine Lake tornado

Jul 13, 2018 | 7:13 PM

July 14, 2000 is a date that won’t soon be forgotten in Central Alberta.

Saturday marks the 18th anniversary of the devastating tornado that ran a destructive path through the Green Acres trailer park at Pine Lake.

The twister touched down at about 7 p.m. five kilometres west of the trailer park, eventually running a 15 kilometre straight line of destruction.

1000 people were displaced. 140 people were injured. 12 people were killed:

Clifford Stegman, 50, Red Deer
Merrill Booth, 63, Calgary
Charles Boutin, 72, Calgary
Lisa Gourley, 30, Calgary
Thomas Ian Prior, 68, Calgary
Margaret Provan, 66, Calgary
Kenneth Prudhomme, 50, Calgary
Irving Simmonds, 74, Edmonton
Margot Warner, 31, Rumsey
Oren Wangsness, 51, Leduc
Doris Broberg, 63, Strathmore
Lucas Holtom, 2, Ontario

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Wind speeds from the tornado peaked at an estimated 300 km/h. It ranks as the second-deadliest tornado in Alberta’s history, trailing only the “Black Friday” twister that killed 27 people in Edmonton in 1987.

Jean Chretien, Canada’s Prime Minister at the time, toured the trailer park four days after the tornado struck.

An estimated $3.4-million dollars in damage was done.

(Story data compiled from the BIG 105 news archives)

(Photos and video provided by Channel6.ca / RDTV)