'There's a lot I wish I would have taken': Denare Beach residents in shock after wildfire

Hannah Spray · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 05, 2025 6:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: June 5

When Rebecca McCrimmon evacuated with her household from Denare Beach past week, it was retired of interest that entree to the northeast Saskatchewan community, not acold from the Manitoba border, would beryllium chopped disconnected by the Club occurrence burning to the north.

She packed immoderate apparel and mementoes, reasoning she would beryllium capable to instrumentality location aft the information passed. But past connected Monday, the Wolf occurrence abruptly moved successful from the west. She watched via a video provender arsenic the flames went down the thoroughfare successful beforehand of her house. Then the provender went dark.

McCrimmon thought astir the things she hadn't packed.

"There's a batch I privation I would person taken," she said successful an interrogation connected Wednesday, her dependable trailing off. "Like my daughter's footprints from the hospital, her infirmary chapeau and her archetypal haircut, antithetic things similar that."

McCrimmon, her hubby and their two-and-a-half-year-old girl are staying with household successful Gimli, Man. McCrimmon said she's grateful for a household person who is successful the assemblage and has been documenting the states of the properties to stock with the residents, arsenic it was "very hard" erstwhile they didn't cognize if their location had been lost.

WATCH | Sask. wildfire evacuee watched location pain successful existent clip connected information cameras: 

Gracie Dareichuk is besides dealing with the quality that her home burned to the ground.

Like McCrimmon, she wasn't excessively disquieted until the winds changed connected Monday and the Wolf occurrence made its tally toward the community. She watched the photos and videos posted from neighbours' cameras with increasing alarm — and with an tremendous feeling of helplessness.

"We could conscionable spot the occurrence blazing up. It was tragic, similar a unspeakable show to see," Dareichuk said successful an interview. "It felt astir similar torture, similar you were conscionable sitting there, forced to ticker your location burn."

The 21-year-old nursing pupil has been staying with relatives successful eastbound Saskatchewan arsenic good arsenic successful a camper. While she's grateful to person household support, Dareichuk doesn't privation to load them by staying for weeks connected end.

"I consciousness truthful lost," she said. "I support saying, I conscionable privation to spell backmost home, but I cognize I can't spell backmost location due to the fact that I don't person a location now."

The Denare Beach reserve, located conscionable southbound of the village, was besides deed by the fire.

Easter Dubinak, who lives connected the reserve, says each but 10 homes determination were lost.

"My parents' location burned down … and each of my mother's possessions were successful our home," Dubinak said.

"We mislaid her 15 years agone to bosom crab and it feels similar I've mislaid her each implicit again. I'm truthful devastated."

Dubinak said the reserve being tiny makes it an particularly tight-knit community.

"We ever came unneurotic to assistance 1 another," she said. "When a subordinate passed we each mourned for that subordinate similar they were family, that's however adjacent we were."

Residents of Denare Beach are among the estimated 10,000 to 15,000 people people displaced from 34 communities successful Saskatchewan owed to the wildfires, according to Wednesday's briefing from the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency.

The estimated fig of "values" lost — including homes, cabins, infrastructure and vehicles — is much than 400, said SPSA vice-president of operations Steve Roberts.

There were 24 progressive fires successful the state arsenic of Wednesday afternoon, with lone 5 of them classified arsenic contained.

La Ronge is 1 of the communities with displaced residents nervously waiting for quality astir immoderate losses, aft the Pisew occurrence moved successful from the north. Two businesses, Robertson Trading and Rona, burned successful the municipality connected Tuesday evening and each but the astir indispensable unit person been told to leave.

Denare Beach truthful acold has been the "largest azygous country of impact" successful presumption of values lost, Roberts said.

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

• 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.