‘It's devastating': Sask. hunting camp captures footage of bears fleeing from wildfires

CTV News

7 days ago

The owners of White Gull Outfitters captured footage of bears fleeing the Shoe fire in northern Saskatchewan. (Source: Darren Sochaski)
A family-run hunting business in northern Saskatchewan fears their entire camp will be destroyed by the wildfires.
White Gull Outfitters sits in the heart of Saskatchewan's largest wildfires that's grown beyond 216,000 hectares.
'From what we've seen, it looks like a total loss — everything: quads, boats, cabins, everything inside the cabins,' owner Darren Sochaski told CTV News.
'I'm expecting to drive in there and see the dark side of the moon, basically.'
The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) said evacuation orders are in place for nearby areas, including: Whelan Bay, Pelican Narrows, Lower Fishing Lake and Narrow Hills Provincial Park.
'Our provincial resources are indeed stretched,' Steve Roberts, the vice president of SPSA operations, told journalists in a wildfire update on Tuesday afternoon.
Alaska has stepped in to lend Saskatchewan an aircraft tanker and Quebec is loaning the province two waterbombing planes.
At around 2 a.m., conditions got too dangerous for firefighters — forcing them to move their command centre from Lower Fishing Lake to Candle Lake — where the fire is about 20 kilometres away.
Candle Lake Chief Administrative Officer Brent Lutz is asking the SPSA for approval to build a firebreak along the highway, to stop the flames from reaching the community.
The SPSA said it's assessing the situation and responding to the most critical areas first.
'Much like an emergency room, they will deal with the most critical patient first,' Roberts said.
Meanwhile, Sochaski has been monitoring the fire through his trail cameras, which have captured footage of bears fleeing the flames.
He worries the fire and smoke will permanently alter local wildlife patterns.
'It's devastating. It's a little piece of heaven — or it was,' he said.
While Sochaski is expecting the worst, he's already thinking ahead.
'If it's viable for us to rebuild, we will definitely do so,' he said.
'It's just not in us to give up.'