‘What if we lose everything?’: Candle Lake business owners face uncertainty amid wildfire threat

WATCH: One of Saskatchewan's fastest-growing resort communities is facing economic challenges as a wildfire threatens to displace the entire village.

The resort village of Candle Lake is experiencing a summer quite unlike those in the past.

As wildfires continue to burn in much of northern Saskatchewan, those with businesses in the community are anxiously awaiting updates.

“We’ve seen the planes come in and dip in the water, and we’ve seen it get dumped on the flames, and it’s just the sounds of the helicopters around the area; the airstrip isn’t far behind us,” Candle Lake business owner Patty Fuchs said.

“So, you hear it a lot. And it does feel a little bit like a war zone.”

Patty and her husband, Kerry, own a rental cabin that hosts many tourists throughout the summer months.

The couple says their rental cabin typically sees the most business between the May long weekend and the September long weekend.

“It’s very critical that we take advantage of as many days as possible to rent our property. And if something unforeseen like this happens, now we’re in a position where it means a lot of lost income,” Kerry Fuchs said.

The Fuchs are not alone in this matter, according to Brent Lutz, the chief administrative officer for the resort village of Candle Lake.

“We go from 1,000 people to about 10,000 [in the summer], and so that’s where the opportunity is for these businesses to serve all these people, and obviously, at a moment like this, the cash registers are not really running,” Lutz said.

Candle Lake is currently under a voluntary evacuation order, which means that anyone who does not reside in the village permanently has been asked to leave for the time being.

“A lot of people in the resort village of Candle Lake are scrambling and dealing with a situation that they haven’t had to deal with before,” Kerry Fuchs said.

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The Fuchs have already gone to their cabin and taken home sentimental belongings, which Patty described as an emotional experience.

“You kind of look around, and you do break a little bit and go home, like, what happens? What if we lose everything? And so it’s been a little bit of an emotional rollercoaster,” Patty Fuchs said.

While the economic impact is a concern for many, according to the Fuchs, the more pressing issue of the fires has brought the community together.

“Everybody’s kind of pitching in, and it just shows what Saskatchewan people are like. They just pitch in and they help out,” Patty Fuchs said.

“Some of the businesses that are still operating are there to support the emergency services. Some of them are making meals for the firefighters that are out in the field and packing lunches,” Lutz said.

The Fuchs say that while the future of their business is uncertain, their community is instilling confidence in many.

“The one thing that I find is that they’re not frantic. They’re just pulling together and working as a community to get everything back in order, which is really, really awesome,” Patty Fuchs said.

“I think that everything’s going to be okay. The stronger that we come together, and the more that we believe that we’re going to be able to get through this, the better it will be,” Kerry Fuchs said.