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National Post
3 days ago
- Business
- National Post
'Anguish is eating me up': Roaring fires, helping hands in northeast Saskatchewan
Article content SMEATON — Marlene Barzeele steps through the door of the Smeaton post office. It's a busy place on a Friday afternoon. She's in a hurry. Like most people around here, she has worry in her eyes. Her need to help others overrides her obvious exhaustion. The village along Highway 55 in northeast Saskatchewan is currently about 25 kilometres south of the largest wildfire raging in the province. This exceptionally fertile and picturesque region is where agricultural fields give way to dense boreal forest. The forest floor is dry, temperatures hot and the wind heavy. Ideal conditions for the spread of forest fires. Marlene left her home at Little Bear Lake a few days ago, as locals in that area were told to prepare for evacuation. Her husband Bill is still up at the lake, working around the clock to save their house and property from the surrounding wildfire. Others are doing the same, and many are engaged in an exhaustive effort to save the Little Bear Lake Resort and other businesses. Some sought refuge in their boats on the water over the weekend, fearing the worst. 'We lost our house to fire three years ago,' Marlene said. 'It was devastating and agonizing. The community helped us so much at that time. Now, I can't sit by and do nothing. I have to help. All the people around here feel the same way. Anguish is eating me up. I have to do something. I want to cook for everyone.' Once Marlene left her home in the forest, she was not allowed to return to Little Bear. There is no public access to the area being consumed by SHOE, a monster of a fire that has been out of control since early May. It began as a single fire, but merged with another. The merged entity has become progressively larger in recent days. Marlene gathered up important papers and photographs before leaving Little Bear. Family pictures are special and must be preserved. She drove through 'smoky and fiery' areas on her way out of Little Bear and through Narrow Hills Provincial Park. 'Trees were ablaze,' she said. 'Leaving my husband there is almost overtaking me. I had to find a way to help. I am doing what I can to get food and supplies to those who need it up there.' Her daughter, Heather Arsenie, and a friend, Constance Roussel, pitched in. The women are using their phones and social media to call for donations. The response has taken their breath away. 'The donations just exploded,' Marlene said. 'We were astonished by the response. They came in from campers, homeowners, people in the towns and on farms, dedicated cottage owners, even the grandchildren of cottage owners.' Due to road-blocks there was no way to drive the supplies from Smeaton up to Little Bear. But Barzeele and her helpers were able to convince authorities to help out. Many heavy boxes of food and other supplies were transported by a Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency helicopter to the lake community. 'The SPSA was also very helpful with bringing in the equipment Bill and others needed, the pumps, sprinklers and hoses,' she said. 'Bill helped set things up on the docks, got the pumps and hoses connected and working.' To date, the SHOE fire has reduced cabins and camper trailers to ashes, torched several campgrounds and left local people scrambling to save assets. Last week, the fire spread with such ferocity that it took down an SPSA command station, and forced the evacuation of 280 people involved in firefighting efforts. Barzeele and others said a number of cabin owners remain with their property, water pumps and sprinkler systems trained on buildings and surrounding trees. Reports posted on the Little Bear Lake Facebook site tell of a Saturday evening of extreme tension for those working to protect property and beat back fire. But over the weekend there was some good news. In the early hours Sunday morning, Wally Knorr, owner/operator of Siberian Outfitters at Little Bear Lake, reported: 'It was a scary night, but all is good, actually very good.' He said the 'fire came in roaring' and narrowly missed his property. His business and the Moose Horn Lodge are safe. The fire was 'burning insanely' and winds were 'insanely strong' throughout the night, he reported. 'We'll see what happens next,' Knorr added in his note. 'Those fires which crossed the road went to the lake, but a western wind might bring them toward us. And if it does, we will just meet it and have a serious conversation.' By early Sunday morning there was good news from Bill Barzeele, who reported that contractors worked through the night attacking flare ups and managing spot fires, fighting threats with great precision. 'The wind is now in our favour, so they are hoping they can just continue to monitor things for the next little bit,' he reported to his daughter, Heather Arsenie, who posted on Facebook. Arsenie said in the post: 'I believe I finally heard an ounce of relief in my dad's voice.' In a briefing on Saturday, the SPSA reported that the SHOE fire had grown from roughly 216,000 hectares a few day ago, to 305,343. Roberta Strickland runs the post office in Smeaton. She cried as she expressed the 'pressure and stress' people in her community are under. 'I worry about my neighbours,' she said. 'My dad is 85 and in the care home. I worry about everyone in there.' Strickland's job keeps her in touch with many in the area. Residents of Little Bear Lake, Pickerel Lake and Lower Fishing Lake get their mail in Smeaton. 'I'm afraid people will lose their homes,' she said. 'But we are supporting each other, coming together. At the lakes, people are really pulling together. Business owners and farmers in the area are taking their own equipment out to help.' Strickland and others in Smeaton and Choiceland said the fires started suddenly in early May and were driven by 70 km/hr winds. Little could be done to prevent them. It took time to mobilize firefighting efforts, but it now appears that more resources are being amassed to attack the SHOE fire. Cheri Kosowan, owner of Torch River Tavern in Choiceland with her husband, Doug, said the town's highly dedicated fire crew is among those fighting the blaze. She added that SPSA is in the process of setting up a camp for fire personnel at the sports grounds on the town's southeast corner. A drive by the location shows it to be in the early stages of set-up. A number of people in Choiceland and Smeaton, some with grey hair, said they have never seen the fire season as destructive as it here in 2025. 'The fires are huge,' said a Choiceland resident who did not want to be named. 'It's getting hotter and hotter. It's like Earth is regenerating itself.' The economic impact to the region is disastrous, Roberta Strickland indicated. 'The tourist industry is basically a write-off.' In this region of Saskatchewan, where agricultural lands meet the boreal forest, the bush — its lakes, streams, campsites, trails, fish and game — is woven into the life of communities. The forest and all it provides in recreation, employment, food and fun, is fundamental to the culture and lifestyle of thousands living here. People in First Nations, on farms, in villages and towns, have a deep attachment to the forest lands that are now going up in smoke. The destruction of the heart and soul of the region by fire is devastating. It shows on the faces of those who depend on it for their well-being.
CBC
6 days ago
- Climate
- CBC
Care packages airlifted to Little Bear Lake for people battling fires
Marlene Barzeele and her band of helpers have airlifted donated food into Little Bear Lake to feed the people protecting 150 homes and cabins from wildfire.
CBC
6 days ago
- General
- CBC
Community creates copter care packages for people defending Little Bear Lake, Sask.
Social Sharing It took some sweet-talking, but Marlene Barzeele and her band of helpers managed to airlift a huge load of donated food into Little Bear Lake to feed the small crew of people who are protecting 150 homes and cabins from wildfire. Barzeele said seeing the helicopter take flight might have been the first time she has felt joy since leaving her husband of 43 years behind so he could to defend their house and community last Thursday. "It's been agonizing knowing that he's there. And I wished that I stayed, but he insisted that I leave. So that's why we had to figure out a way to help," she said. Marlene's husband Bill Barzeele, 72, is the oldest among the small team of volunteers who stayed at Little Bear Lake, 140 kilometres northeast of Prince Albert, as the unpredictable and aggressive Shoe Fire burned dangerously close. The men patrol the perimeter, douse hotspots and pump water onto properties. "My husband is with the other people who are working to keep those hoses and pumps working at people's docks just to make sure that yards are wet," she said. WATCH | Property owners douse hot spots and build firebreaks at Little Bear Lake: RAW | Property owners douse hot spots and build fire breaks at Little Bear Lake 3 hours ago Duration 0:20 Volunteers work to protect 150 homes and cabins at Little Bear Lake. People also removed flammable materials, like propane tanks. "They're like bombs when they overheat," said Marlene's daughter, Heather Arsenie. "That was an incredibly smart thing to do." The volunteers have been joined by some professional firefighters, helicopters, heavy equipment operators and other contractors employed by the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA). The Delta Company has installed sprinklers on every cabin. The Shoe Fire, which started on May 7, merged with the Camp Fire and has grown to more than 216,000 hectares. This week, it burned dozens of homes and cabins at East Trout Lake. The wildfire continues to split and morph, fuelled by wind, moving around the lake, jumping a fire guard, even threatening the landing strip. "It's miraculous that the community has been saved to this point," she said. Food delivery by air Marlene, now staying with her daughter in Melfort, receives daily reports from Bill from the front lines and shares them with others. The Barzeele family has owned property at Little Bear since 1981, and she and her husband have lived there full-time since 2006. Feeling helpless, and concerned that food was running low, Marlene posted on Facebook on Tuesday that she wanted to organize a food hamper delivery for people protecting their community. She was flooded with e-transfers and donations from people who have connections to the lake, including frequent campers, cabin owners, and even grandchildren of cabin owners who have fond memories of childhoods at the lake. Marlene and her helpers ordered individually wrapped sandwiches, and bought snacks and other ready-to-eat food items. They picked up donations from business owners who have cabins at the lake, like Sauder's Home Hardware in Melfort. "I really don't want to take credit because there have been so many donations from everyone. It's overwhelming," she said. But getting the food hamper into the community would be another challenge. All roads were closed due to fire. "We were told that only contractors listed with SPSA were allowed to go through the roadblock," she said. After some discussion and phone calls at the roadblock, they were allowed to go to the helicopter pad. They got the food in the air, then delivered to the Little Bear Lake store and distributed to workers. RAW | Food is airlifted to Little Bear Lake by helicopter 3 hours ago Duration 0:35 On Friday, the group posted that it was sending their fourth load of food and drinks up. It had spent nearly $5,000 on supplies so far, and more e-transfers were still coming in. "Even more inspiring, we're also sending a separate load dedicated to our brave neighbours in Moosehorn, standing strong through challenging times. Let's continue to show them what community spirit looks like!" Arsenie posted on Facebook.. As of early Friday morning, a lot of forest had burned around Little Bear Lake, but no cabins had been destroyed. Marlene, who admitted she's been crying and stressed, was reluctant to do an interview, but agreed to speak with CBC News because she wants to shine a light on the bravery of people who are working so hard to defend the community, and to ask for more supplies and more firefighting resources.
