Adam Atkinson is grappling with the loss of his family’s cabin in La Ronge, Sask., after it was destroyed in a fast-moving wildfire. The cabin was consumed by the Pisew Fire on Tuesday. The cabin had been in Atkinson’s family since 1983 — serving as a place of peace, connection and tradition. “We didn’t have TV or electronics out there. We’d lay at night with a flashlight making shadow puppets on the wall, telling stories and connecting with my mom,” Atkinson told CTV News. Metal bedframes are the only reminders of what was. Even the dock, floating on water, was burned. “The entire dock burned down to within an inch of the top of the water. That’s how ferocious the fire was,” Atkinson said. The wildfire also destroyed the cabin’s outbuildings, hot tub and quads. But for Atkinson, the most painful loss is the sentimental items — artwork, family heirlooms, photo albums and his brother’s ashes. “The last things that we remember my brother by were destroyed in the fire,” Atkinson told CTV News. “Still a state of shock. We’re still considering all the things that we lost.” Atkinson imagines rebuilding won’t be easy. By Wednesday afternoon, the Pisew Fire had burned 141,000 hectares — over six times the size of Saskatoon — growing by 58,000 acres in just one day. ‘A moccasin is not just a slipper’ The Pisew fire also destroyed the historic Robertson Trading Post in La Ronge on Tuesday. Flames swept into the northern town Tuesday night, engulfing the iconic trading post and the neighbouring RONA store. Video posted to social media shows both buildings ablaze as ground crews and firefighting helicopters battle the flames. Despite not being fully operational, Robertson Trading held hundreds of pieces of Indigenous art and historical artifacts. “We are filled with regret that we weren’t able to save the artwork,” the family business wrote in a Facebook post. “Let this tragedy be a reminder to all that a moccasin is not just a slipper, that a beaded cardholder or keychain is not just a practical accessory; please hold your own pieces of indigenous art close to your heart. Protect them.” It breached the La Ronge airport and destroyed the province’s air tanker base. “We are up against a monster. The last 24 hours have been chaotic,” the La Ronge fire department posted on Facebook, thanking private contractors and volunteers. “We are doing the best we can fighting for our communities.” An evacuation order was issued for La Ronge, Air Ronge and the Lac La Ronge Indian Band on Monday evening. Over 400 structures have been destroyed in Saskatchewan wildfires and officials estimate up to 15,000 people have been forced to leave their homes. In total, the province’s public safety agency estimates up to 600,000 hectares of forest have burned already this year. It is the driest spring on record for La Ronge. The area has received just 18 millimetres of rain over the past three months — far below the 100 millimetres it typically gets, according to Environment Canada. Saskatchewan’s largest wildfire — the Shoe Fire — has burned about 470,000 hectares and is less than 14 kilometres from the Resort Village of Candle Lake.
