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Residents of Speers spent Saturday clearing fallen trees, mangled buildings and scattered debris after an unconfirmed tornado tore through the small village Friday evening, leaving widespread damage but no reported injuries.
The village, located about 50 kilometres southeast of North Battleford along Highway 40, was left with ripped-apart sheds, damaged roofs, downed power lines and uprooted trees as neighbours armed with chainsaws, tractors and heavy equipment began the cleanup.
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Richard Zipchen stands among trees toppled by a tornado that tore through Speers on Friday, July 10, as cleanup continued in the village on Saturday, July 11, 2026. (Kenneth Cheung/battlefordsNOW)
Richard Zipchen, who works for the village as its water and sewer operator and maintenance worker, watched the storm unfold from his home, where he took shelter in the basement with his son.
“We saw trees uprooted, just like God was picking them from the air, and no real damage to houses, but a lot of outbuildings are damaged and destroyed, as you can see,” said Zipchen, who has lived in Speers since 2010.
Zipchen said the community escaped what could have been a far worse outcome.
“There were no lives lost or anybody even hurt and I think even all the pets survived. So all in all, it turned out okay.”
Around the village, residents were still discovering the full extent of the storm’s impact.
Michael Cope said a section of roofing metal had been left hanging from power lines on Main Street, while an entire storage shed had been blown across a road.
“It’s basically just clean up, clean up, clean up,” he said.
Cope, who lived in Speers for more than two decades before moving to the Battlefords, returned Saturday to help his family with the cleanup. He said powerful Prairie windstorms are nothing new, but this storm was unlike anything he had experienced.
“This is the first tornado that has actually touched down in the village since I moved here in the summer of 2000.”
Property owner Vic Whitfield spent Saturday assessing a storage building that had been torn apart by the storm.
“We got to take it apart and clean it all up,” he said. “I’ve got to get a backhoe in here and a skid steer and clean up this mess.”
Whitfield said debris from the destroyed building had been blown into nearby trees and neighbouring properties, adding to the work still ahead.
For Zipchen, the destruction also underscored how fortunate the community had been.
“When there’s this wrath of God that comes through and does all this kind of damage to nature and to everything, we just have to be thankful we’re still here,” he said.
“Everybody’s helping each other. We’re a community, we’re gonna stand with each other and help each other out. That’s what it’s all about.”
— with files from CJME News
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