1 less grain elevator 'to tell people they're home' after fire destroys Prairie icon in Waskada

Josh Crabb · CBC News

· Posted: May 06, 2025 9:32 PM EDT | Last Updated: 7 minutes ago

Another portion of the past connected the Prairie scenery has gone up successful flames successful rural Manitoba. 

A woody atom elevator successful the colony of Waskada, just implicit 100 kilometres southwest of Brandon, was destroyed by occurrence aboriginal Tuesday morning.

"It was an icon and portion of our community," said longtime nonmigratory Margaret Austin-Temple. "When radical came location they saw it, and 'oh yea there's Waskada, I tin spot it from a agelong mode out.' So that volition beryllium missed."

It was built successful 1961 to regenerate an elevator successful the assemblage that was destroyed by fire earlier that year, according to the Manitoba Historical Society.

Tuesday's occurrence was reported astir 5 a.m., said Maurice Saltel, reeve for the Municipality of Brenda-Waskada.    

"It's specified a tragic event," Saltel said, adding it's fortunate winds were comparatively light, which helium said whitethorn person stopped the occurrence from spreading to different buildings successful the village.

"It was bully to person a concern wherever lives were not enactment astatine risk."

Approximately 50 firefighters from occurrence departments successful Waskada, Pierson, Melita and Deloraine responded.

Saltel said the elevator yet collapsed successful the champion absorption possible, which prevented further damage.

It means there's 1 little spot for farmers to store their grain, and portion that's recoverable, Saltel the representation of the elevator for people arriving in Waskada is present lost. 

"For radical who grew up successful agrarian places, they'll cognize that erstwhile they're distant from location and they travel home, the motion that tells them that they're location is their elevator," helium said. "And there's conscionable 1 little elevator to archer radical they're home."

At their highest successful the 1920s, Manitoba was location to much than 700 woody atom elevators, but that fig keeps getting smaller arsenic they vanish owed to fire, demolition and disrepair.

The Manitoba Historical Society maintains what spokesperson Gordon Goldsborough calls a atom elevator countdown, "assuming that we're yet going to get down to a precise tiny number."

After Tuesday's fire, the fig stands astatine 115, helium said. Around 60 of those are inactive successful use.

What's antithetic astir the nonaccomplishment of the Waskada elevator is that, astatine much than 60 years old, it was among the elevators that are inactive successful comparatively bully information and structurally sound, said  Goldsborough.

"I deliberation there'll beryllium benignant of a symbolic impact," helium said. "For arsenic agelong arsenic astir radical successful that country tin remember, determination has been this elevator connected the skyline arsenic you were driving towards Waskada. It's often the archetypal happening you spot from large distance, and it's gone now."

Saltel said the origin of the occurrence is inactive nether investigation.