Smoke on the horizon was the first sign of trouble. But for one camper at Pine Grove Resort at Saskatchewan’s East Trout Lake, it quickly turned into a terrifying wait.
“I was keeping an eye on the Shoe fire, particularly because there was very little information coming out from anywhere, and it was really hard,” said Joanne Dorward, camper at East Trout Lake.
The last day she was at the site was the Saturday of the May long weekend. She recalled firefighters arriving to install sprinklers, including one placed directly on her lot.
“We were thinking, you know, we’re going to be good, our property is going to be OK,” she said.
But then came the moment she’ll never forget.
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“Monday morning, I put on the stream from the Wi-Fi camera that we have set up at the campground and literally just watched the fire get closer and closer and closer,” said Dorward. “Until the point where the Wi-Fi went down and I assumed the camera melted. The visual of it, it was just horrific, really horrific.”
She says her fear quickly turned into frustration.
“Our sprinklers did not go on at all during that day. Everything was just dry. It was almost like they just left us with nothing and that’s heartbreaking.”
According to her, the worst part of the experience was the lack of information. Besides the initial evacuation notice, she says there was no further communication from officials.
“None at all. I think the little communities were just forgotten,” she added. “We didn’t get any help from the fire people at all. There was no retardants, no bombers, no water, no nothing.”
Now back home, she’s focused on supporting others who’ve suffered devastating loss — like the owners of the Pine Grove Resort.
“Bob and Verna. This is their retirement and their future, and they have lost everything. Our steps forward will be to give them as much support as we can.”
She’s still waiting to find out whether her property survived and is still searching for answers.
“I really wish there was some government site that we could go to that gives us an update,” said Dorward.
“And really an explanation for me. Some explanation as to why we weren’t protected a little bit more.”
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