Muskoka area news

Terrible tragedies.

(Photo used with permission: Jeremy Rupke. He has some amazing shots. The full story: at Huntsville Forester. Although Jeremy's blog posts tell the personal story.
No one hurt in Empire fire

Residents of the Empire Hotel have homes for the weekend. The Salvation Army has secured hotels for some residents and the rest are staying with family or friends.

There were 120 firefighters involved, the Huntsville Forester reports.  With 50 apartments, and businesses in the building it is devastating to this small town. The tragedy doesn't seem to have hit any other media yet!
My blog buddy, Jeremy, took some fabulous shots. Visit his blog for more photos. Donations for those families without insurance are being sent to the Salvation Army and Legion in Huntsville.

In person at the Salvation Army – The Salvation army is accepting donations in the form of clothing and furniture. 
In person at the Legion – The Legion is accepting clothing, furniture and monetary donations. Everything given will go directly to the people affected by the fire.

You can also donate through CanadaHelps.org to Huntsville Salvation Army!

The very sad news was that a small plane flying from Kingston to Sudbury went down in Algonquin Park on Saturday, Oct. 10th. Another tragedy for this region.

The poor rescue crews were unable to access the site except by helicopter, as there are no roads.

They were out a 3:30 a.m., doing the recovery, bless them all.
The victims were identified Sunday as Kevin Houle, 50, his wife Lorraine, 50, their daughter Emily, 17, all from Sudbury, and Emily's boyfriend Michael Rollins, 17, from nearby Garson.

I once took a small plane ride, but with the recent deaths I know I will never ride in a small plane again. They are too susceptable to pilot error and/or weather. Around here the winds can be wicked, as in many parts of Canada. We often see them flying over head, and when they take off, just about touch the tops of the trees. Not my kind of a fun trip.

Four die in Ontario plane crash

A family of three and a friend from Sudbury, Ont. killed when their small plane crashed in Algonquin Provincial Park.

4 die in Algonquin Park plane crash

The small plane, a Piper PA28, left Kingston and was supposed to land in Sudbury at 6:30 p.m. Saturday. When the plane failed to arrive, relatives of the daughter's boyfriend grew worried and called police. Provincial police in North Bay received a call from Sudbury police around 10:30 p.m. inquiring about a downed plane in the area, Dionne said.