Gatineau Park closed as NCC deals with tornado damage - Action News
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Ottawa

Gatineau Park closed as NCC deals with tornado damage

One of the tornadoes that tore through the National Capital Region on Friday cut right through Gatineau Park, doing considerable damage to trails and parkways.

Officials hope to reopen park in time for the start of Fall Rhapsody event this weekend

One of the tornadoes that tore through the National Capital Region last week hit Gatineau Park, bringing down many trees. (Supplied )

One of the tornadoes that tore through the National Capital Region on Friday cut right through Gatineau Park, doing considerable damage to trails and parkways.

Alain d'Entremont, the National Capital Commission'ssenior manager of visitor services and recreational programs, said the park will remainclosed until further notice while the damage is cleared up. He saidit could have been a lot worse.

"It didn't hit any infrastructure. We will be able to restore and put back in action most of the trails," he said. "It didn't hit the park that hard."

The tornado appears to have come through the southern portion of the park, south of Pink Lake.

A set of new trails park staff had hoped to open soon,between Pink Lake and chemin de la Montagne, were the worst hit. Crews arestill assessing the damage.

"We still have to see where the status is. We know volunteers are ready to go but for safety reasons we have to wait," he said.

This image from the National Capital Commission's Twitter account for Gatineau Park shows a large tree down following Friday's tornado. (Supplied)

The park could remain closed forfew more days, d'Entremont said. They'rehopingto have most areas open for the Fall Rhapsody event, which begins this weekend.

"We are very confident we will be ready."

People can help effortsby respecting closure signs and not going around them.

"We have a lot of machinery out there. We have trucks with chippers out there and we are asking people to stay away from the park," he said.

"If the barrier is closed you shouldn't be going on the parkways."

Trails have been closed in many parts of Gatineau Park so workers can clear the path. (Supplied)

There are some areas of the park that remain open, but they are limited.

The Mackenzie King Estate is open for visitors, but access is only via Barnes Road.

The park's visitor centre is also open, with a small area of trails nearby for anyone who wants to take a short hike.

The Philippe Lake and La Pche Lake campgrounds are also open.