Historic 120-year-old barn loses roof in ‘crazy’ wind storm near Pangman

Christine Calderbank feels like she is living out a scene from the ‘The Wizard of Oz.’

The roof of her historic barn was blown off in a wild wind storm on Wednesday evening at her farm 95 kilometres south of Regina, near Pangman.

“I couldn’t believe it. It was just crazy,” she said. “It was bizarre.”

Calderbank said she heard a large crunch while she and her partner Cam Griffin ran around closing up the house to protect it from the high winds.

“I saw wood outside and I thought a tree fell over,” Calderbank said. “Then Cam came in and said ‘The barn roof is gone.’”

Christine Calderbank and Cam Griffin stand in front of their damaged barn. (Gillian Massie/980 CJME)

When she looked out her window, she saw a tangle of lumber strewn across her yard, with only the base of the 120-year-old barn left standing.

“The whole roof was gone – not just part of the roof, but the whole roof,” Calderbank said. “That was so odd. That was so crazy.”

Listen to Calderbank and Griffin’s story on Behind the Headlines:

Not only did the storm scatter a mess of broken lumber across Calderbank’s lawn, but it carried part of the barn’s roof completely over the house and dropped it about 100 feet away in a field.

Part of the roof was tossed over the tree line, landing in a nearby wheat field. (Gillian Massie/980 CJME)

Griffin said it was a miracle the flying debris did not hit the house. He said was closing the windows of the vehicles outside just minutes before the barn’s roof blew away.

“Only five minutes, and the barn was gone,” he said. “It was really something.”

The debris pelted their vehicles, smashing out the tail lights on one and piercing the window of another.

Christine Calderbank points out the wood timbers from the barn that battered her car. (Gillian Massie/980 CJME)

They later found the horses that had been inside the barn huddled together in a pasture, despite parts of the gates being blown down.

When the storm passed, their inspection of the yard found fruit trees were uprooted, tree branches broken, and a solar panel damaged by a piece of debris.

Both said they felt lucky that they weren’t hurt.

“Is it, you know, luck? Is it fate? What is it? It’s just so bizarre,” said Griffin. “It’s like the wind has it’s own life.”

Calderbank and Griffin said they aren’t sure if the storm was a tornado or a strong plough wind. 980 CJME has contacted Environment Canada for more information on the storm.

Chaos in the stables

While Calderbank and Griffin weren’t hurt during the storm, they said they think one of their horses was n hit by flying debris.

Joey, a quarter horse, stamped his back hoofs and swished his tail in discomfort while his handler, Josh Vass, fed him medicine.

“He’s agitated and in pain,” Vass said.

Josh Vass feeds Joey the quarter horse in the barn. (Gillian Massie/980 CJME)

Vass has kept four quarter horses and one miniature horse in the barn’s stables for the past few years. He was in Edmonton for work when he was alerted about the storm.

“The horses were inside of the barn, as far as we can tell, when it happened,” Vass said.

While Joey was injured in the storm, the rest of the horses made it out unscathed.

“We are really grateful,” Vass said. “I mean, the horse hopefully doesn’t have any permanent structural damage.”

Vass said if Joey’s condition doesn’t improve soon, he will take him to a vet in Ogema for a closer look.

A beloved barn

Calderbank said the barn is registered as a historic property – Prentice Homestead 1910.

“Everyone loves this barn, because there’s not very many of them left, and that’s the sad part about it,” she said.

The historic barn before the “crazy” wind storm blew in on Wednesday. (Christine Calderbank/ Submitted)

Calderbank said the barn has seen many different visitors over the years, some who have come by train from Ogema to Pangman.

She said lots of work was done to refurbish the barn, with new shingles put on it just two years ago.

Calderbank said she would love to rebuild the barn, but needs more information from her insurance agency before any decisions are made.