Strongfield curling rink destroyed in Thursday storm

A gathering place in a small Saskatchewan town was destroyed as a severe storm rolled through the central part of the province on Thursday night.

The curling rink in Strongfield, 100 kilometres south of Saskatoon, was found in pieces by locals after the storm passed through around 8:30 p.m.

“Nobody had seen it out their windows because it was raining so hard,” Brandy Wick said, after joining others in town to assess the damage after the storm.

Environment Canada had issued a tornado warning in the area, with reports of a tornado touching down in the Loreburn area. Loreburn is north of Strongfield.

Still not confirmed whether the #strongfield #sask curling rink was destroyed by tornado or high winds : Jessica April #skstorm #cjme #ckom pic.twitter.com/22CTPZ4nhU

— Jessika Guse (@JessikaGuse) July 21, 2017

Brandy Wick’s grandmother, Carol Wick told 650 CKOM that she will miss the rink after creating so many memories inside.

“The rink was built in 1961-62,” She said. “(So)I’ve been curling there for a long time.”

Downed trees, flooded streets in Outlook

The town of Outlook, about 40 minutes northwest of Loreburn, was also hit with severe weather.

Outlook Mayor Ross Derdall said the community was spared any major damage, but had a big day of cleaning up ahead on Friday.

“Trees and branches and leaves in every possible combination laying all over our streets,” he said.

Photos taken in Outlook show the effects of a storm that moved through the area on July 20, 2017. (Sonya Opdahl-Bowey/Facebook)

Photos taken in Outlook show the effects of a storm that moved through the area on July 20, 2017. (Sonya Opdahl-Bowey/Facebook)