This week as part of our Village Wild video series, presented by Dietrich Law, we're featuring a video from Thunder Bay resident Brent Schaworski.
While our Village Wild series often spotlights the animal kingdom, this submission highlights the power of nature in a way we thought our readers would still appreciate. What started as a sunny, peaceful afternoon for campers at Marks Lake in Thunder Bay over Labour Day weekend, quickly transformed into a remarkable encounter with the unpredictable strength of the elements.
As originally reported by TBnewswatch, Schaworski and his family were preparing to work on a boat lift when the wind started picking up. “We were watching a thunderstorm kind of grow on the other side of the lake,” said Schaworski, “and then, all of a sudden, we noticed this little waterspout growing in the middle of the lake. It was pretty awesome to see the power of nature like that come out of nowhere.”
Schaworski had the presence of mind to grab his phone and capture video footage of the storm, which he later posted on social media, describing the event as a small tornado. The video shows the dramatic moment the storm tore across the lake, grabbing the dock and boat lift, flipping them over before vanishing just as quickly.
“There was kind of like two of them put together, and it came across right to the shoreline, grabbed the boat lift, grabbed the dock, flipped everything over. As fast as it was there, it was gone,” Schaworski recalled.
When the winds subsided, Schaworski and his group found bent and mangled remnants of the dock and boat lift, amazed at how quickly the event unfolded. “Some of the people didn’t even know what happened until it was posted later on Facebook,” he added.
This awe-inspiring moment reminds us all of nature’s raw, unpredictable force—an element of the wild that deserves just as much recognition as any wildlife encounter.
How to Participate in Village Wild: Video of the month
Submitting your entry is easy. Simply fill out the submission form and upload your video or add a link to the video along with a brief description.
Each month, our Village Life team will randomly select and announce a Video of the Month award winner. The user who submitted the video will receive a gift card as a token of appreciation for sharing their unique footage with our readers.
