Saskatchewan Singer Witnesses Jamboree Tragedy
Friday, August 07, 2009 at 13:37
A musician who grew up in northern Saskatchewan is deeply grateful to have survived a close encounter with the plow winds at the Big Valley Jamboree in Camrose, Alberta last weekend.
Danny Fortier, who was raised in Pinehouse and Ile-a-la-Crosse but now lives in Saskatoon, was getting ready for a sound check with his band Wyatt when the storm blew in.
They were on a side stage, just metres from the enormous festival stage that was ripped apart by the 120 km/h winds.
Fortier says it was surreal to be caught up in a wall of dust and debris and later witness the devastation first hand, yet have Wyatt’s crew and bandmates only dealing with minor bumps, cuts and bruises.
One woman seated on the main stage was killed by a falling speaker, while 76 others were injured.