Apparent microburst damages Eganville, Ont. campsite

An apparent microburst did significant damage to a campsite in Eganville Thursday night.

The storm that hit the Lake Doré area, about 135 kilometres west of downtown Ottawa, quickly whipped up powerful winds. It lasted for only a few seconds, but it was enough to damage trailers and several trees at the campground.

It also caused a power outage in the area for several hours.

The storm hit around 4:30 p.m. It would take until midnight to get the power back on.

Campers were shaken, but unharmed.

Microbursts are unpredictable and can produce very brief but very powerful winds of more than 100 km/h and up to 240 km/h. They're caused when cool, dry air blows into a shower or thunderstorm and the cool air causes the storm to collapse on itself.

Friday was spent cleaning up. Owners of the affected campsite say they estimate it could cost half a million dollars to clean up the damage. A crane had to be brought in to remove trees.

All of the trailer owners at Smiths Bay have insurance, as it's a requirement to stay on the campgrounds.

--With files from CTV News Ottawa's Peter Szperling.