Lark Harbour restaurant damaged by high winds
Shed blew over and came to rest on the side of the building
LARK HARBOUR — With a hole in the roof, damage to the patio area and part of shed resting against the side of the building, Victoria Snow didn’t know on Tuesday morning how long it would take before she’d be able to reopen her pub and eatery in Lark Harbour.
Snow has owned Myrtles on the Bay since September 2019.
On Monday morning the building on Main Street in the south shore Bay of Islands community was damaged as high winds hit the area.
Wind gusts some 50 kilometres away in Corner Brook went from 65 kilometres per hour up to 85 km/h throughout the day with gusts in Lark Harbour going well above that, according to local reports.
Snow was at home in York Harbour, just 6.5 km from Lark Harbour, as the wind caused all that havoc.
She said people were sending her images of the damage “While I was having a little cry for myself.”
The area is known to experience high winds and they are becoming more common. A little less than a month ago gusts of up to 107 km/h caused damage to a home in York Harbour.
“But this is the worst I’ve seen it since I’ve lived here. I was looking out my bedroom window and I’ve never seen the trees buckle that far down to the ground before in my life. It was unreal.”
At one point the whole house shook, and Snow knew it was likely worse in Lark Harbour.
The shed was only about four feet away from the restaurant and had been bolted down.
“That blew right out of the ground and over.”
She was glad it wasn’t further away because it could have gained more momentum and went through the restaurant instead of stopping.
On Tuesday morning the roof of the shed was still there but the rest of it had blown over in someone else’s yard.
Snow said she only had the shingles on the roof done last year and the damage should be covered by the contractor’s insurance.
She has insurance on the building but is hoping the other repairs won’t be so much that she’ll have to make a claim.
“I can say I’ve seen worse, but I think in this situation we’re kind of lucky there’s been minimal damage to the bar.”
Snow’s fiancé, Travis Young, was at the restaurant Tuesday morning checking out the damage and getting a look at the roof with contractor.
“It was like a tornado hit down here,” he said. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
He said there was still a lot of debris outside the building. “It’s hazardous right now.” He said they’re thankful no one got hurt and that they can focus on getting cleaned up and the restaurant back up and running.