Stormy weather forced staff to evacuate the waterpark on Jackfish Lake on July 22nd, 2021. (Sask Aquatic Adventure/Facebook)

By Brent Bosker/650 CKOM News

Kids narrowly escape after inflatable playground toppled in storm

Jul 23, 2021 | 4:53 PM

Staff at Saskatchewan Aquatic Adventures are being praised for their quick actions after a storm toppled a waterpark at Jackfish Lake in Battlefords Provincial Park.

About 35 kids were on board the inflatable playground when the sky turned dark on Thursday afternoon.

That was when Manager Ashely Greenwald radioed to her lifeguard to evacuate the children from the raft.

“We were checking the Weather Network every couple minutes. The clouds got dark pretty quickly. I’ve seen a storm like this before where it was dark and hit really fast. That was when I decided to bring the kids back,” she said.

The kids reached shore just minutes before the storm hit.

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The inflatable raft is about a five-minute swim from shore and is anchored in 11 feet of water.

With children as young as five onboard, Greenwald said it could have been a very dangerous situation.

“Oh boy, that would not have been good. There wouldn’t be any way to swim in the conditions of the lake. It was like huge whitecaps. The park was flying around. There would have been for sure injuries.”

“I think our staff did an amazing job getting everybody off the park and safe and sound.”

The park is closed until the weather conditions improve and staff can assess the structure.

“We aren’t sure where the anchors are compared to where the actual park is. Everything is kind of on top of each other,” she said. “I don’t think anything is actually damaged, but we won’t know until we can get out on the lake. The wind is too strong right now.”

Saskatchewan Aquatic Adventures opened in 2020 and operates inflatable playgrounds across the province.

Regina Beach

Blackstrap Provincial Park

Danielson Provincial Park

Buffalo Pound Provincial Park

The Battlefords Provincial Park

Greenwater Provincial Park

Duck Mountain Provincial Park