No injuries were reported after strong winds toppled a tree and crushed a vehicle and a motorhome Sunday (March 28) in Parksville.
Riverbend RV Resort manager Allison Rees told the PQB News a large tree was brought down at approximately 9 p.m. on Sunday by strong winds, damaging the side of a motor home and the front end of a nearby passenger vehicle.
“It was a freak storm,” said Rees, “And it was a perfectly healthy tree… But it’s like looking at any healthy tree. How can you know that it’s going to come down?”
Rees said no one was injured, either during the incident or the ensuing cleanup, and that the owners of the damaged vehicles are being accommodated in one of the resort’s cabins while dealing with insurance.
“Nothing like this has happened before,” she said.
The resort complies with tree maintenance year around, said Rees, and they have an arborist advise them on what dead trees there may be and what else may need to come down.
Within the past 12 months the resort has removed approximately 10 trees.
“We thought, since we’re coming into April, that we would be through the worst of it, but I guess not yet.”
READ MORE: Tree tumbles during heavy winds, crushes car at inn in Qualicum Beach
On Monday morning staff members were seen on-site, having secured the area and clearing the rest of the fallen tree.
Several other residents of the resort commented on the wind from Sunday night, saying it shook their campers very badly throughout the night.
According to Environment Canada’s historical data, Sunday was the most extreme day in March for strong winds, with maximums reaching 55 km/h by the Qualicum Beach Airport.
Currently, there are no weather alerts for the east coast of Vancouver Island.
