CALEB NICKERSON
OTTER LAKE Oct. 3, 2018
It seems that the twister that tore through the Municipality of Pontiac last week wasn’t the only tornado to touch down in the region.
Officials from Environment Canada used satellite imagery to confirm that a category EF1 (wind speeds between 135 and 175 km/h) tornado touched down about 25 km north of Otter Lake, and bushwhacked a three km trail.
Two other EF1 tornados were reported in the Val-des-bois and Mont Laurier regions, bringing the total number that stuck the Outaouais to four.
When Bill Stewart arrived at his property on Murray Lake Road with his son-in-law ready to do some bow hunting, he wasn’t expecting to see a tree across his driveway, let alone the monster that looked like it had been deposited there by a giant.
Stewart invited The Equity to view the devastation on his property several days after the tornado hit.

“Can you imagine the power of the winds?” he said, pointing to another downed giant with its roots sticking out in the air. “What a mess.”
In addition to the blocked driveway, Stewart’s outhouse was lifted up and deposited in a nearby bog.
“That was the most important building up here, it was four, five star,” he said. “I think it’s down to one star now.”
Despite his humour, Stewart was thankful that the cabin itself, which is over 100 years old and belonged to his father-in-law, didn’t sustain more damage than some broken windows. Two sheds that were adjacent to the building were annihilated, tin balled up and blown far and wide.
“Just thank God it didn’t take the house down,” he said. “It’s sad. We kept it so nice.”
Just up the hill from the house, a vast swathe of trees were scattered like kindling, trapping one of Stewart’s tractors, though luckily only damaging the fender.
He said he had already made plans to have the wood taken out, but was unsure how much hunting he would be able to get in this season with all this work.
“It’s just total devastation,” he said.