Heavy rain that lasted more than two hours forced evacuations in the Cape Breton Highlands National Park in Cheticamp, N.S., Saturday night.
The amount of rain caused the Cheticamp River to flood. Glenn Cochrane, who was staying at the nearby campground, was forced to leave with little warning.
“I looked outside the tent and saw a wall of water about 300 millimetres high coming for the rest of the campground,” said Cochrane. “I knew we didn’t have much time to get what we could and get out.”
Nearly 70 people spent the night at a local fire hall and a number of RVs set up camp in the parking lot.
“It was terrible,” said Matthew Bourgeois with the Cheticamp Fire Department. “Torrential rain for two-and-a-half, three hours, thunder and lightning as well.”
The area saw trees snapped, roads with gaping holes and vehicles swept off the road.
No one was hurt, but the damage was extensive.
Kelly Deveaux with Parks Canada says in the 80-year history of the campground, it’s never been evacuated.
“The water was roaring,” she said. “The water levels in the river were very high and it was very dark. There was a combination of things that led to the decision.”
Bourgeois says it was difficult to relocate all the campers.
“At first, it was hectic,” he said. “We were not sure how we were going to handle this. People kept rolling in. We weren’t event set up for bedding.”
Despite the situation, Cochrane says officials involved handled things well.
“They were very well organized,” he said. “They must have had evacuation drills. I’m not sure what their training is, but great people. Couldn’t do enough to help everyone out.”
The waters have since receded, but the campground remains closed until further notice.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Kyle Moore.
