RAY - Two campers were injured when a tree fell on their tent during a severe storm in Voyageurs National Park early Saturday.
The St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office reported that it responded to a medical call at a water access-only campsite on Lake Kabetogama at 5:47 a.m. A group of people were camping when a tree fell and struck two campers asleep in a tent, causing non-life threatening injuries, according to the sheriff’s office.
The sheriff’s office, park staff and Kabetogama Fire and First Responders transported the two people via boat from the campsite to the Wooden Frog Campground boat landing on Lake Kabetogama. The campers were then transported via ambulance to Rainy Lake Medical Center in International Falls.
It’s unknown whether it was high winds or lightning that caused the tree to fall during the severe storm that was passing through the area at the time, the sheriff’s office reported.
This is the second consecutive weekend that strong storms have swept across Voyageurs National Park and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Last Sunday, one person was killed and five others injured in three separate incidents as severe weather affected the BWCAW; two of the incidents involved falling trees and the other involved a lightning strike.
