RIVERHURST, Sask -
"I could have been like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz."
Standing in the middle of his kitchen Tuesday afternoon, Riverhurst's Ryan Miner looked through his dishes and soup cans, which were surprisingly intact while other household items laid scattered and broken on the floor.
"It's cleaner in here now than when I left," the single 34-year-old farmer said jokingly to friends and family there to offer support.
Suddenly, a breeze blew through the room, as Miner's home no longer has a roof.
Following a severe storm in the Riverhurst area on Monday, the Miner farm (where Ryan farms with his father Devone) was heavily damaged. Miner speculates a tornado was the culprit in what not only ripped the roof off his house, but also destroyed and toppled several grain bins and trashed some augers. However, Miner told the Times-Herald he's just happy nobody was hurt in the incident, as he currently lives alone and was in Nipawin at the time of the suspected tornado.
"I'm glad I wasn't in (the house). It can be rebuilt."
Miner was rummaging through the wreckage with his sister Tanya Miner, 33, as they awaited the insurance agents on Tuesday.
Although the siblings were joking about the disaster Tuesday afternoon, Tanya said she was quite upset upon seeing the damaged home earlier in the day. The house was where Ryan and Tanya spent their childhood.
"I had a pretty big bad day - to see the place you grew up in smashed," she said.
The storm occurred around 7 p.m. on Monday. Shortly after the storm, Devone drove to the farm from his Riverhurst home and saw the damage.
Other people in the area described the Riverhurst storm as a fairly powerful event. Nearby resident Daphne Penner said she hadn't experienced so much thunder and lightning in years.
Nunavut's Patti Bligh, who was visiting the Riverhurst area on Monday, said the storm was an awesome sight, with giant towering clouds shooting bolts of lightning.
Despite the damage to his farm, Miner said he expects there shouldn't be too much trouble bringing the crop in this year. While there was plenty of destruction, all the large machinery was left relatively unharmed.
Maple Bush Rural Municipality Reeve Dennis O'Brien said he hadn't heard of any other area property severely damaged by Monday's storm.
According to meteorologist Dan Kulak, Environment Canada received no reports of tornadoes in the Riverhurst area Monday, so the agency can't verify for certain if the event that damaged the Miner farm was indeed a tornado.
However, he said that could largely be because unless people report tornado sightings, Environment Canada doesn't know to investigate.
If anyone seeing severe weather, he or she is encouraged to call 1-800-239-0484.
Carter Haydu can be reached at 691-1265.
