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CTV News
an hour ago
- General
- CTV News
‘Everybody feels the loss': Northern Sask. wildfire evacuees return home to La Ronge
There are mixed emotions in La Ronge, Saskatchwan as some evacuees returned to a home while others returned to ruined remains. Allison Bamford reports. Thousands of evacuees started returning home to Northern Saskatchewan today, after raging wildfires forced them to flee more than a week ago. Fires levelled several houses and cabins in areas surrounding La Ronge. Within the townsite, two businesses were lost - Robertson Trading and Rona next door. 'I'm still in the process of processing, if that makes sense. I drive by here everyday. I find it hard to believe,' said Scott Robertson, co-owner of the fur trading company. 'Everybody feels the loss.' Wildfire Scott Robertson stands in front of the rubble where his family trading post once stood. The trading company was a cultural pillar and popular tourist attraction in the community for nearly six decades. It closed permanently last year when Robertson retired. He made sure to still open the doors periodically when demand called for it. Inside, Robertson housed about 100 furs and countless Indigenous artifacts, artworks and clothing -– items that told the history of the fur trade, settlers and Indigenous peoples. 'I always felt that this town should have some kind of an art gallery, a cultural center. And so we hoarded all kinds of stuff, hoping one day, somewhere, somehow, that would evolve,' he said. 'By doing that, by keeping all of our eggs in one basket, it turns out to be a gigantic mistake.' wildfire A photo of Robertson Trading before it burned down. The day after officials issued a mandatory evacuation order, a stray ember set fire to Rona, Robertson said. He watched from the parking lot across the street as his building went up in flames next. 'I'm just taking it one day at a time. We're not going to resurrect this building. I can't see it happening,' he said. Besides losing the business that's been in his family for the last 56 years, Robertson came close to losing his cabin. Flames surrounded the property as Robertson's brother fought with a single pump to save the building. But their sister's property about 100 metres away could not be saved. 'Happy to be home' About 7,000 residents from La Ronge, Air Ronge and the Lac La Ronge Indian Band were allowed to go back into their communities as of Thursday morning. A mandatory evacuation order was issued on June 2. Maggie Roberts kissed her doorway as she walked back into her house. 'I'm just happy to be home that's all I can say,' Roberts told CTV News. 'My house is still here (and) my truck.' Roberts didn't know what she'd see coming home, after she heard the fires were just up the hill from her house. 'We're good friends with the doctor who lives up the hill, so he was taking care of the place,' she said. La Ronge mayor Joe Hordyski stayed behind to help his community. 'I made it perfectly clear that I would not allow our firefighters to defend our community without me being there to support,' he said. Power and utilities are running in the area. The emergency department is open, and the rest of the community's healthcare services will be available in the coming days. Schools will reopen next week. But the mayor said it won't be a complete return to normal. 'There's still going to be fire activity happening. There are choppers still putting things out, and there's activity to the south of us,' Hordyski said. 'We've been reassured that the community will be safe. And we didn't want to prolong the evacuation.' The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency is on the ground to support the repatriation. Mental health resources are also available.
CBC
2 days ago
- Business
- CBC
Family behind La Ronge's Robertson Trading nearly loses cabin to wildfire, too
The family behind Robertson Trading say they were overcome with emotions when the iconic general store was lost to a wildfire in La Ronge, Sask., last week. But they didn't have much time to sit with their feelings. Owner Scott Robertson said they were occupied trying to save their family cabin that nearly burned down, too.
Calgary Herald
05-06-2025
- Climate
- Calgary Herald
'We need rain and we need a lot of it': SPSA says as wildfires ravage Saskatchewan
Article content In a wildfire season that ranks among the worst ever recorded in Saskatchewan, a historical landmark is now among the losses. Article content The community of La Ronge — one of the hardest hit areas so far in the province — is lamenting the destruction of Robertson Trading. The beloved trading post, lost this week along with a Rona Hardware store, was iconic in the town of 2,500 people. Article content Article content Article content Hundreds of Indigenous artifacts and works of art owned by the Robertson family were housed at the store. It all burned after the nearby wildfire sparked a blaze in downtown La Ronge. About 7,000 people living in La Ronge, Air Ronge and the Lac La Ronge Indian Band, an area roughly 380 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon, were ordered out just days earlier. Article content Article content 'Everybody is battling,' La Ronge Mayor Joe Hordyski said. '(Anything) you can protect is a bonus.' Article content In Saskatchewan, officials on Wednesday reported 24 active fires. They said there have been 243 wildfires so far this fire season, well above the five-year average of 135. With such high numbers of fires, and three weeks of no appreciable rain, this season has made for a complex time with fires impacting populated areas. Article content 'There's between 10,000 and 15,000 people currently out of their homes at this time. They are in a shelter or hotel supplied by the government or from the Red Cross, or may just be staying with family and friends,' said Steve Roberts, vice-president of Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency. Article content Article content 'It has probably been the most difficult fire season for May that I've experienced in 21 years.' Article content Article content Roberts said a variety of factors are coalescing to make it an extremely volatile and difficult situation. Article content '(It's the) sheer numbers,' Roberts said. Article content Property damage is also on the rise, according to the SPSA. Provincially, 34 evacuations are currently in place. According to Roberts, the number of cabins, homes, infrastructures and vehicles that have been damaged or destroyed is estimated at more than 400. The hardest hit is in the Denare Beach area, Roberts added.
