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Vernon  

Disaster averted...just!

Shelby is still shaking.

The Peachland resident and her fiance met with friends in the Enderby area on Sunday to do a little camping.

But the windstorm that whipped up fire in West Kelowna and knocked down power lines around the Valley caused a shocking and abrupt end to their evening.

“I was looking forward to a nice relaxing couple of days,” Shelby said. “I had no idea how windy it was.”

The group had set up tents at the Cooke Creek campground not far off the Mabel Lake Road.

“We were in a little dip and didn't realize the trees were taking the brunt of the wind.”

Shelby said her girlfriend had just put her two young children to bed in one of the tents, poured a glass of wine and sat down for a chat when a large crack was heard.

Then “all hell broke loose,” Shelby said.

There was no time to move as a huge tree came crashing down on site, narrowly missing the tent the two children were and slamming into the top of Shelby's vehicle.

“The only thing we could think was 'Oh my God, the kids' and we just ran as fast as we could and heard the kids start crying.”

The three-year-old girl and 10-month-old boy were pulled from the tent and were found to be unharmed.

Right next to them, the tree lay on the top of Shelby's Chrysler four-door sedan.

“It was such a scary experience,” she said. “We got right out of there.”

The group stayed the night in Enderby before returning to cut the tree off of the car and view the damage.

“It is pretty severe, but everyone is alive and safe,” said Shelby. “The next time I go camping I'll definitely be checking the weather.”



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