Storm flattens Becker machine shop west of Kindersley
By Joan Janzen
The rain and wind storm that ripped through Kindersley on September 4 left a trail of destruction in its path. Greg and Shelley Becker woke up the following morning to discover their machine shop had received a massive amount of damage. The Beckers' farm is located one mile west of Kindersley.
Open to the sky. Trusses that once held the roof of Greg and Shelley Becker's machine shop lie twisted overhead after a plow wind tore through the yard one mile west of Kindersley on September 4. An air seeder cart and tractor sat beneath the collapse. PHOTO BY JOAN JANZEN
Peeled back. The rear wall of the Becker shop gave way, leaving an antique Massey Ferguson Super 92 exposed beneath a slab of roofing and splintered lumber. PHOTO BY JOAN JANZEN
Roof on the ground. An entire section of steel roofing and wall slid off the back of the Becker machine shop and came to rest on the concrete apron, with the bare truss skeleton standing behind it. PHOTO BY JOAN JANZEN
Scattered for a mile. Sheets of steel siding and roofing from the Becker shop litter the neighbouring stubble field after ten to fifteen minutes of wind. PHOTO BY JOAN JANZEN
A vintage Massey Ferguson combine sits wedged beneath a collapsed roof section at the rear of Greg and Shelley Becker’s machine shop. The antique combine and an older tractor were the only equipment damaged in the September 4 plow wind. PHOTO COURTESY GREG BECKER
"The wind lasted maybe ten to fifteen minutes," Greg said. "We didn't even notice the damage until the next morning when I saw a piece of soffit on the front yard. I thought it was the neighbour's, but it was ours!"
The rear end of the shop was completely destroyed, with debris strewn across the neighbouring field. Greg said it had to have been a plow wind. Thankfully, only an older antique tractor and combine at the rear of the shed received damage.
"The neighbours lost shingles but nobody got hurt; that's the main thing," Greg concluded. He had picked up a trailer to begin the process of cleaning up debris.