Keith Rae sat on the tailgate of his truck in his driveway on the west side of Sun King Crescent trying to take in what had just happened.
His property might have a bit of damage, but for him it was nothing compared to what he could see from where he sat and what he knew was just beyond, further east on his street where officers were going door-to-door to check on residents and over on Monarchy Street, Majesty Boulevard, Prince William Way and Mapleview Drive.
Heavy rain had prompted him to look away from his work Thursday afternoon and run to the back window. The rain was coming across sideways and there was a loud noise.
“I just saw debris floating through the air. Get to the basement, that was it,” he said.
And then silence.
All it took was 20 seconds, he estimates.
A tornado had torn through the south-end residential area working right into the plaza on Big Bay Point Road. And the damage was extensive, tearing the roofs off some houses, shattering windows of homes and cars and tossing trampolines, shingles and insulation all over the area.
“I looked out the back right away and saw that our patio furniture was all tossed around, and then came to the front and looked....” said Rae, who was unable to continue.
Unlike the 1985 tornado which skipped relentlessly through Barrie 36 years ago, going aloft above Kempenfelt Bay just five kilometres from where Rae sat, Thursday’s storm somehow took no lives.
But the damage was everywhere.
Down the road and around the corner on Majesty, Lorie Rowland said she grabbed her dogs when her tenant, Brenda, rushed in after peeking out from the garage, spotting the tornado; she quickly alerted her to go into the basement.
After it had passed they looked at their phones and noticed the tornado alert.
As they recalled the events, their back neighbour came to tell them she, along with others on her section of Sun King, had been evacuated. There were concerns over gas leaks and the stability of the homes. Her own home had water pouring in.
The house across the street from her sat on a precarious angle, jostled from its footprint. Others were clearly damaged and throughout the area several had lost their roofs.
“If you guys are staying, could you take my fish,” the woman, Beth Green asked, preparing to leave indefinitely.
With her 10-year-old twins, their 11-year-old sibling and two dogs, the prospect of taking the fish was untenable. Where she and her family would end up, she was unsure.
“We have family,” she said, still in shock. “But all of our friends are on this street.”
The massive rainfall sent Senta and Robin Chadwick to the basement of their Monarchy home where it started to flood after the power disruption meant their sump pump wasn’t working.
After sopping up the rain they went upstairs and quickly realized what was unfolding.
“We came upstairs and we saw all the debris flying horizontally and roofs, everything, just flying through the air,” said Senta.
“I was in the garage getting a flashlight and I looked out the garage window and saw debris flying in circles and yelled: ‘There’s a tornado,’” added Robin. “It hit really hard and there’s all kinds of damage to the backyard.”
They consider themselves to be the lucky ones, having minimal damage while some of those around them are forced to look for somewhere else to live while the damage is assessed and then, eventually, repaired.
They figure they were on the edge of the tornado’s path with homes on their side of the street having lost shingles, some plywood and insulation. The other side of the street, they said, has sustained almost no damage.
Just north on Prince William Way, Saint Gabriel the Archangel Catholic School served as a refuge for those seeking a safe dry shelter, albeit in darkness. The area continued to experience power disruptions and no or inconsistent cell and wifi service after the tornado had done its damage.
Charles Tonna sat patiently and safely with his two dogs, Rocky and Lucky.
Tonna had left his living room to get a glass of water when he heard the front window explode.
He said the inside of his house on Monarchy is a total mess, his fence is gone, the windows are shattered, but he thinks he and his dogs fared OK, considering what others have endured.
He still has a roof when others around him don’t, including the neighbour who just moved in two weeks ago.
Jeff Owen had left his home on Majesty with his two kids. Initially, they took shelter in the basement when he said the trees started to dance. But soon after they were asked to leave when some of the houses on his street became very unstable and there was a gas leak. So they waited at Saint Gabes in hopes that they would be allowed to soon return.
“We actually fared probably one of the best on the street,” said Owen. “We have a full brick house, some broken windows, no fencing left, I think my truck’s a write off. My neighbour across the street, his brand new truck is a write off. My other neighbour, no roof on his house.
“As soon they give us the all clear, we can go back to our house, we still have a house to live in, luckily for us. I just have to get some windows fixed and boarded up.”
