It’s every paddler and backcountry camper’s worst nightmare: you’re snuggled to your sleeping bag after a long day of paddling when you wake to the long and constant drum of thunder. Soon, the sky is lit with lightning so bright you could mistake it for daylight. Then, you hear the crack of falling trees.
For many campers on June 21, 2025 this nightmare was a reality when a sudden storm ripped through southeastern Ontario trapping and injuring campers throughout the region. More than 15,000 were without power, roads were washed out and local municipalities declared a state of emergency.
The storm was part of an outbreak of severe thunderstorms that swept across the Plains and Great Lakes producing tornados and baseball-sized hail over the Plains states, and a suspected meteotsunami on Lake Superior.
Backcountry rescues prompted throughout Algonquin Provincial Park to rescue trapped campers
In the wake of the storm, multiple backcountry rescue efforts were launched to evacuate campers. Near North Depot Lake in Algonquin Provincial Park a boy was seriously injured when a tree fell on his tent while he was camping with his mother. The mother sent out an SOS signal on a device that shared their coordinates with first responders.
First responders used handsaws, then chainsaws when they arrived to clear fallen trees and debris to access the lake, then paddled in to the mother and son to begin first aid. A float plane was then dispatched to transport the pair to the hospital, Ontario Provincial Police – East Region shared on social media.
Throughout the region dozens of others were injured or stranded and one camper was killed when a tree fell on his tent in the night. The Mattawa Fire Department shared on Facebook that crews responded to a multiple casualty incident after the storm and began to search for trapped and injured campers, evacuating over 100 individuals from Samuel De Champlain Provincial Park in southeastern Ontario, the park having been hit particularly hard.
While many reports initially suspected a tornado, researchers from the Northern Tornadoes Project shared with CBC News that a downburst, not a tornado, was likely responsible for much of the damage in the region. Researchers shared that this incident was the largest downburst recorded in years and downed trees over an area spanning more than 100 square kilometres.
While tornados are rotating winds that rise up into the storm with a narrow path of destruction, downbursts are powerful winds that descend from the thunderstorm and spread out, resulting in widespread damage from generally the same direction. Downbursts are also sometimes called straight-line winds.
What should you do if caught in a thunderstorm while camping?
While the most recommended course of action while camping during a severe thunderstorm is to seek shelter indoors, that may not always be possible on a paddle-in camping trip, and it may not always be possible to anticipate severe storms, especially one that develops overnight.
Consider carrying a way to call for help in an emergency without cell service like a SAT phone or a two-way GPS communication device, and set up tents away from dead or dying trees. Check the nearby trees for “widow makers”, or partially-broken, suspended or dead branches that are more likely to fall in the night. Additionally, it’s good practice to pitch your tent away from the water’s edge and away from the tops of hills for protection from wind and lightning.
Beyond wind, lightning can also be a concern for backcountry paddlers. The best things you can do to survive lightning storms in the backcountry are getting off the water, staying low, assuming lightning position and spreading your group out.
Still, one of the best ways to prepare for inclement weather while camping is to carry a radio or device that can access the most recent weather forecasts and warnings, and an understanding of what those forecasts and warnings mean for the area you are travelling in.
