Happy campers blown into a nightmare

Our camping trip over Labor Day Weekend was just like any other camping trip we've been on, until the day we were planning to go home.

We were staying at Sam Owen Campground in Hope along Lake Pend Oreille.

Our boys, Jordan, 7, and Mason, 4, played in the dirt like boys do. We had a campfire every night, roasted marshmallows and made s'mores, swam in the lake and enjoyed time with family. We also spent time on the water in my parents, Jerry and Colleen Flowers', 1993 Four Winns boat, which they've owned since I was a kid.

Our boys were extremely excited to go camping. They absolutely love camping and always ask, “When are we leaving to go camping. Mom?”

On Monday, the day we were planning to head home, we woke up about 8 a.m. to a windy day. I could hear sirens in the distance. I got up and went outside to retrieve my cellphone from inside the pickup to see what time it was. My dad was up and came over to help me lower our awning since it was so windy.

The windstorm took us by surprise as the weather report before we left said it would be sunny and warm.

I was getting dressed when my husband, Kasey, said my dad heard some trees had fallen in the campground. We then went into high gear packing up our campsite and then began to help my parents.

The wind quickly began gusting heavily. We could hear trees breaking and falling throughout the campground.

I went back to our camp trailer for a minute and that’s when I saw a huge tree fall right in my parents' camp spot, landing on the firepit. My husband was still over there with my dad. Our boys were inside my parents' fifth-wheel trailer with my mom. I called after them and hurried over, fearing the tree had landed on them as I couldn’t see where my dad or my husband were at the moment. They were safe.

My dad told us to get our boys and get our pickup and trailer out of there.

So we ran back to the pickup. The boys were both still in their pajamas and very scared. Another tree fell in the loop ahead of our campsite, so we had to turn the pickup and trailer around to go the opposite direction. We drove a few feet down to the main campground road that was the only way out and discovered we were trapped with other campers, as multiple trees fell along the roadway. We were sitting ducks!

My husband went back to continue helping my parents while I stayed with the boys. One of the campground hosts came up to the pickup window and told me that a lot of people were down at the beach where it was safe. Anywhere inside the campground was unsafe, as you didn’t know which tree was going to fall next. Not wanting to leave my husband, I waited for him to return.

When he did, I went inside our trailer and quickly got the boys warm clothes, as it was beginning to rain. I was standing outside the pickup at the right side backdoor helping the boys get dressed when my husband yelled, “Honey, tree — RUN!” He was standing to my left. I looked up and a tree was falling right above my head, so I ran. My husband shut the back door to try to protect the boys as there was absolutely no time to get them out. It happened so fast! The tree came down on top of the pickup with our boys inside. Both my husband and I screamed, fearing the worst. We thought our boys, who are our world, were gone.

My husband opened the door. The boys were terrified but physically OK. We got them out fast. Jordan didn’t have his shoes or his sweatshirt on yet.

The boys and I started to head for the beach. My husband stayed behind to find Jordan’s shoes inside the pickup. He said he was trying to hurry, and at the same time listening to every snapping and popping sound for fear another tree might fall on the pickup.

We were heading up the main road, Jordan still in his socks, when we came across a woman who was also camping there. As I was in tears and still in shock from the close call we just had, I told her what happened and we had to leave in a hurry without his shoes. She was so nice. She said, “I have small feet. Here, you can have my shoes.” I asked if she was sure and she said, “Those are just my camping shoes.” I told her thank you and we continued on our way, making a beeline through the campground for the beach.

Jordan kept running ahead of me as he was scared and just wanted to feel safe again. I told him to come back and stay close to me. I wanted to keep them safe if another tree were to fall near us. We saw trees falling in the distance and passed one of the campground host’s sites where a tree had fallen on their car and motor home.

The campground host who told us we should go to the beach caught up to us in one of the loops and I asked him if he could please help my husband get our three dogs that were in our camper.

We finally made it to the beach. Jordan was cold since he didn’t have his sweatshirt. Another campground host gave him the hooded towel she was wearing over her jacket to keep warm. She gave me a hug as I was still in tears.

A few minutes later, my husband and the campground host came along with our dogs. My dog, Roxie, came running to me, creeping low to the ground. I could tell our poor dogs were also very scared.

As we stood on the beach waiting out the windstorm, I worried about my parents, who were still back in the campground. My husband went back to check on them as the boys, the dogs and I sat on the beach.

My husband came back and said my dad got their pickup and fifth-wheel out from their campsite, but were still in the loop where we were camped. I found out later that my parents pulled out from the campsite in the nick of time, as five or six trees fell where they'd been parked. One of those trees had been leaning toward their trailer when the windstorm began. That tree snapped off and would have hit their trailer. Ironically, no trees fell in our campsite.

Another campground host on the beach told us the restaurant, Ivano's Del Lago along the beach at Beyond Hope Resort, was letting campers inside with their dogs to take shelter. So we walked over and waited out the rest of the windstorm. When the winds started to die down, my husband decided to go back and check out the damage to the pickup and check on my parents again. He discovered another tree had fallen on top of my parents' boat, which was parked in the overflow parking.

My husband texted me that it was safe to come back. I showed my boys that the trees were barely moving anymore in the distance. My oldest was still afraid to leave the restaurant and venture back into the campground. I reassured him it was safe and we could go back and check on their grandparents.

We headed out with the dogs and met up with my husband on the beach. As we walked back, we saw all the destruction from the windstorm. Trees were down everywhere, some on top of people’s campers and vehicles. We joined my parents and the campground host who helped get our dogs to safety. He said a tree came through their camper as his daughter was in the bathroom. We heard about a hundred trees fell throughout the campground, which sustained major damage.

Chainsaws started roaring to life as crews came along with nearby residents to help clear the roads and remove trees off campers and vehicles. Somehow, with all the trees falling around us, nobody in the whole campground had been injured. We were all very lucky. My dad said it was the closest to a tornado he ever wants to experience. It felt like we were in one of those natural disaster movies where you're trying to get to safety and dodging danger at every turn. It was terrifying! I could feel the anxiety in my chest until later that night, when we finally made it home.

We were actually able to drive the pickup and pull the trailer home. Our boys rode with my parents since the glass was broken in the back window and it was smashed from the back of the cab down to the bed of the pickup. As we started to head home, my husband said, “I never want to experience anything like that ever again.”

Our boys felt fearful of going camping again someday. We’ve been camping many times, and have experienced rain and shine, but never a bad windstorm. I told them it doesn’t mean it can’t happen, but it also shouldn’t make us fearful of doing something we enjoy.

Our boys were sad about the pickup and boat being destroyed. I explained to them that it’s only stuff. You can always replace stuff, but you can’t replace lives. I told my boys I believe God was watching over all of us and kept us safe. My little guy, Mason, kept saying “God saved us!” and “I thought we was going to die!” I told him, “Me too, buddy, but we are safe now.”

We are still shell shocked, but we'll heal over time. I'm grateful for the campground hosts’ help and the woman who gave my son her shoes. I truly believe my husband saved our lives that day when he yelled "tree!"

Monday was terrifying and an experience we will never forget. The feeling of almost losing your children is a parent’s worst fear, a fear I hope we never have to feel ever again.

• • •

Hillary Main is a copy editor and paginator for the Coeur d’Alene Press. She can be reached at hmain@cdapress.com.