Building at Chesley Lake Camp burns to the ground

Fire destroys building at Chesley Lake Camp From CTV Kitchener's Brandon Rowe: Staff and campers reflect on the fire that destroyed the historic restaurant and office.

Chesley Lake Camp, south of Sauble Beach, has been a popular summer destination for decades.

But on Canada Day, a part of the camp’s history was destroyed.

A fire broke out in the property’s restaurant and office around 10 p.m.

“All of a sudden we heard these strange sounds, what sounded like a freight train,” says Sheryl Plouffe. “We came out of our cottage to see an inferno.”

Within a few hours the flames has engulfed the entire structure.

Staff members were worried the fire would spread to nearby propane tanks.

“We were just yelling for people to get out of the way while we waited for the fire department to get here,” says manager Colleen Seaman.

It wasn’t until the next day that staff and campers saw the full extent of the damage. The building was reduced to rubble.

“It’s quite a shock to see a hole where there once was a restaurant,” says Wilf Vandyk.

The Christian Fellowship camp also lost 68 years of history.

“We had all our staff pictures on the walls from almost day one of the camp,” says manager Robert Trask. “Now they’re gone. It’s quite upsetting that the history of Chesley Lake was in the building and is gone.”

On Monday, Chesley Lake Camp posted the following statement on their Facebook page:

“Chesley Lake Camp lost our restaurant, office and tuck building on Saturday night in a fire. But we are so thankful that no one was injured. We want to thank the fire department for their fast response and hard work to keep everyone at the camp safe. Our camp staff, board and family are working together to start cleaning and rebuilding. At camp it is business as usual with the golf course, boat house, a small tuck and all our programs running. We want to thank everyone who has reached out with offers of help and kind words of encouragement.”

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

With reporting by Brandon Rowe