‘Unreal smoke’: Sask. woman recalls fleeing wildfire

Many Saskatchewan wildfire evacuees barely managed to flee their homes with the clothes on their back. Allison Bamford has their story.

Shelly Lawrence wouldn’t have known there was a wildfire burning just minutes away from her home if it hadn’t been for the smoke.

She never saw any flames when she made the decision to flee with her granddaughter.

“I think I was halfway home and it was unreal smoke,” Lawrence told CTV News.

She was picking up her granddaughter from school last Thursday and heading home to their place on Piprell Lake in Saskatchewan’s northern boreal forest.

“Part of me wanted to go home because I knew the fire was probably pretty close and part of me said, ‘No do a U-turn because my granddaughter was in the backseat,’” she said.

“So I did a U-turn and got out.”

They fled with only the clothes on their backs.

A day earlier they’d been warned that the two uncontained wildfires burning to the east of them in Narrow Hills Provincial Park were inching closer. Lawrence has been on standby for evacuation before, but she’s never had to flee.

“We’re very grateful that we’ve been this lucky,” she said.

Lawrence’s husband, Richard, and their four-year-old grandson were back at home when they decided to get to safety. Flames burned through some power lines and their house lost power, according to Lawrence.

“He (Richard) didn’t know where the suitcases were at the time when it was dark, so he just threw some stuff into two black garbage bags, a quarter full,” she said.

“Our grandkids had some duffel bags packed so he grabbed those as well.”

All four of them met at Lawrence’s son’s house, about an hour south of the burn zone. They’ll stay there until it’s safe to head home.

Lawrence was allowed to go back for some more clothes and medications over the weekend, but anything with sentimental value was left behind.

“You have no time for that,” she said.

“It was just grab and go. Just your essentials and make sure everybody’s okay and has something.”

She doesn’t know when they’ll return for good or what their home will look like when they do. She said she’s getting most of her updates from social media.

“I’m fearing that maybe I’ll see my place burned to the ground before I know my place burned to the ground on Facebook,” Lawrence said.

Lawrence and her husband own Rainbow Lodge, a rental with five chalets and a convenience store. It’s a well-known stop for locals, tourists and those interested in fishing in the area.

The Lawrences also live on the lakefront property. They moved out 10 years ago when they bought the lodge from Richard’s father.

“We’re very hopeful that we’ll get back in there sooner than later,” she said.

Rainbow Lodge is just west of Narrow Hills Provincial Park. The park is temporarily closed as well as all highways in and around it.

“Sask Parks is closely monitoring the situation and hope that conditions will change so that we can reopen the park next week,” a post on their website stated.

As of Monday, there were 16 active fires burning in Saskatchewan. So far there have been more than 140 wildfires in the province, which is double the five-year average for this time of year.

According to government officials, all of them have been caused by humans.