Tuesday - July 31 - 6:30 am:
I am awaken by the monitor that alerts us when the power goes off and
I get up to see what is going on. I don't hear much wind or rain
outside my open window and begin to wonder if it is just another power
outage that nobody can explain. Power comes back on in about 10 minutes
and I go back to bed, only to have it go out again and stay off.
By the time I get outside and down to the dock, the wind is howling like
I have never seen and I discover the flag pole has been snapped in two,
with the top piece laying across the dock. The first sign we were
lucky was that the pole did not damage either of the two boats parked at
the main dock. Before John Paul and I can get back up to the office,
we are both wet right through our rain coats and are resigned to the fact
this was going to be a long day. (A mild understatement, as it turned
out!)
One of the guys that comes for coffee remains outside in his vehicle for a good 20 mins and we finally ask him if he knows the power is out and we can't make any coffee. He tells us that there is a tree down over the road and he can't get out. A phone call alerts us to the damage over in Hanson Bay and we decide to ride over and see what has happened and if there is anything we can do. After coming up on the tree, someone with a power saw cuts off part of it and we drag it off the road, allowing vehicles to pass. More trees are downed on Vauthey road, but nothing that people couldn't get around by driving partly in the ditch. We get the Morson Marina and find chaos. Houseboats and boats upside down. Looking across and seeing boats turned over in the water and only a dock where a boat house used to be. It looks like a small bomb went off and the magnitude of the damage is beginning to set in. Getting back to the resort, we see hydro lines down and reports come in shortly after that numerous poles are either bent, or broken and fall down completely. I start to wonder if it could be days before we get power back.
After a couple hours, I call Daryl in Atikokan and relay my concerns. After a bit of convincing, he decides to take some vacation and give us a hand. After 10 minsutes, he calls back to say he has two generators on the way and will be there in a few hours. Hydro gets to the area and begins to work around mid-morning. Seeing the big job ahead of them, they head back to Kenora around 7 pm so as not to exceed the maximum work time allowed in a day. They leave some equipment behind and take some back with them.
Around 6 or 7 pm that evening, the rain picks up again. By the time 10 pm hits, the road in front of our main lodge is washed out. At this point, we have no idea what is going on down the highway. The rain slows down around 11 pm and we retire for the evening. When we awaken the next morning, we begin to hear reports of the road being washed out in many places and that a culvert has been washed out just south of the Big Grassy F.N. and nobody can get out of the area. Nobody knows how long it will take to repair the road in that place, or how many other places the roads and highways in the area are damaged. Lucky again, we never lost phone service and I began making phone calls to everyone from local, federal, and provincial politicians, to the guests scheduled to come in the next week, as we are not sure when we will be able to get people out, never mind have the next group of guests come in.
Hwy 621, just south of Big Grassy F.N. and the culvert that was washed away.
Not much work is done Wednesday or Thursday or evening Friday for that matter on the hole in the road stranding everyone in Morson. Power is restored around 5:30 pm on Thursday evening, one hour shy of being off for a total of 60 hours straight. Hydro trucks were barged in and some crews were flown in by helicopter to get power back to most of the area.
Damages to power lines and poles in the area.
Finally, on Saturday, there appears to some progress in getting the massive culvert moved and back in place. We see the first vehicle from "the other side" around 6 pm that evening and the road is opened to one lane around 7 pm. Many people from island resorts and houseboat rental places have nowhere to stay and have been waiting and sleeping in their cars until the road opened back up. We assured our guests we would not allow any to come into the resort until they were able to get out so they would have a place to stay as long as they needed one.
Things are returning to normal now, after a hectic time of boat loading on Saturday night and cabin cleaning on Sunday morning. We were lucky to have Sandy Longenecker available to change towels for the guests because all of our other staff were stuck on the "other side." Daryl, John Paul and myself held down the fort outside and inside the entire time. Ellen was lucky enough to be in Selkirk for the week and did not have to be here. She even got two extra days of vacation out of it.
Thanks again to everyone for being patient while everything was going
on. We really believe we survived quite well, all things considered,
and another camp full of guests seemed to go home happy, which is always
very gratifying as resort operators. Anyone that would like to send up
a short journal type account of how they saw the storm is welcome to email
it to me at jwgaudry@hotmail.com and I would be happy to post it
at the bottom of this page. All other comments and any feedback,
as always, is encouraged. Enjoy the pictures. They are part
of history, as nobody around this area as EVER seen anything like it.
Some of the pictures were used in the Winnipeg Free Press (I made Page
4!!) as well as the national news, "Canada Now", on the CBC Network
at 6 pm on Thursday, August 2 that went along with a telephone interview
with me that aired as well!! That's right everyone, I was famous
for 15 minutes!! Self addressed, stamped envelopes can be sent and
I would be happy to autograph a brochure for everyone!! HAHAHAHAHAHA
Washout in front of our office/store. Our only real casualty.
Houseboat Debris A little too shallow.
Jim Mills and Max Clement for lending us the generators that kept all our guests in running water and a working sceptic system. Without the generators, the situation would have been much more difficult to get through.
Dan Johnson of D+M Building Supplies in Rainy River, ON for securing another generator for us which allowed us to save the contents of our freezers and live bait. As well as Bob Grassle, a summer resident of Morson from Dallas, for picking up the generator via float plane since we could not get out of the area. Also, for helping one of our guests secure medication for a medical condition and getting them to Fort Frances so they could rent a car and get back home and be close to his doctor in case the condition worsened.
Lastly, but certainly not because we do not appreciate it more than anything, a HUGE THANK YOU to all OUR GUESTS for the patience and understanding during the times the power was out and while they were not able to leave. Luckily, most of our guests were cheduled to stay until Saturday, so the hole in the road only kept most groups one day longer than planned. I think everyone even enjoyed a days worth of bonus fishing and water skiiing. We really do have some great guests and we just hope we can continue to take care of you while you stay with us at Mylie's.