Candle Lake prepares for imminent fire threat; restaurant closes to serve firefighters only

Aishwarya Dudha · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 07, 2025 6:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: June 7

The monolithic Shoe occurrence could scope the Resort Village of Candle Lake wrong the adjacent 3 to 10 days, depending connected the weather, the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency says.

The occurrence is little than 12 kilometres from the village, Mayor Colleen Lavoie said successful an interrogation Friday.

Emergency services workers person been going doorway to door, removing flammable materials specified arsenic propane tanks and state cans. A mandatory evacuation bid has not been issued yet. However, determination is a authorities of exigency and a voluntary evacuation request, with the colony encouraging anyone who is not an indispensable idiosyncratic to leave.

The Shoe fire, archetypal reported a period agone connected May 7, has burned astir 500,000 hectares of land. 

"It's advancing slowly, truthful I'm hoping we person up to 3 to 5 days, possibly a small longer depending connected if we person favourable winds," Lavoie said. 

"Everybody, please, occurrence astute your homes. So marque definite there's thing combustible astir your home, adjacent if you person to determination it retired by the road, by the driveway, wherever it's distant from your house. That would beryllium helpful," she said. 

Firebreaks person been completed successful respective areas surrounding the community, with much nearing completion. Additional firebreaks and backburns are besides being worked on. 

Rain connected the way, but winds adhd uncertainty

Weather whitethorn connection a reprieve arsenic rainfall is successful the forecast starting Saturday successful areas of bluish Saskatchewan, bringing 10 to 20 millimetres of precipitation, but determination is besides a accidental of thunderstorms, said Christy Climenhaga, a idiosyncratic astatine Environment and Climate Change Canada. 

She said winds volition beryllium strong, gusting up to 50 to 60 kilometres per hr successful the southbound connected Saturday and past coming from the northwest. 

"Rain is beneficial erstwhile you are dealing with specified adust conditions and progressive occurrence activity, truthful that volition trim the hazard with cooler temperatures and a rainy day. But connected the different hand, upwind is thing that we look astatine with wildfires due to the fact that it tin origin those fires to dispersed precise quickly," Climenhaga said. 

She said overmuch of Saskatchewan has had the driest outpouring connected grounds this year, including successful La Ronge, Prince Albert and North Battleford.

"June forecast has a drier enactment astatine slightest for parts of west-central and southwestern Saskatchewan and a somewhat wetter enactment for northeastern Saskatchewan," she said. 

Climenhaga said that clime alteration increases the strength and hazard of wildfires. 

"What we cognize astir clime alteration and our occurrence behaviour is that arsenic the clime changes, we're expecting longer occurrence seasons and an accrued frequence of aggravated seasons," she said. 

WATCH | 'Memories conscionable burned up': Wildfires successful the Prairies:

Restaurant closes doors to service firefighters 

Wayne and Jennifer Tucker, owners of Emma's Kitchen successful Candle Lake, person temporarily closed their edifice to the nationalist to service meals to wildfire crews.

They're serving breakfast, packed lunches and evening meals to enactment those moving agelong hours connected the beforehand lines. From bacon and eggs to meatballs and stew, they're cooking it up to service the occurrence crews. 

"We truly wanted to enactment the firefighters. We cognize that they're they're retired there, they're moving hard, agelong days, and they request a truly bully meal," Jennifer said successful an interrogation Friday connected CBC Radio's The 306. 

With donations pouring successful from section residents and adjacent precocious schools successful Saskatoon, Emma's Kitchen is making a quality during these pugnacious times. 

They're feeding astir 55 radical successful a time and packing up astir 80 luncheon bags to spell out. 

Up-to-date info connected progressive fires, fume and related topics is disposable astatine these sources:

• Current evacuation orders.
• Interactive Sask. progressive occurrence map.
• Fire information map.
• Fire bans.
• Environment and Climate Change Canada upwind alerts.
• Sask. Highway Hotline.
• Smoke forecast.
• Air quality.
• Tracking wildfires crossed Canada.