FOAM LAKE, Sask. – Lightning may not strike twice, but fire can.
The rural community of Foam Lake is reeling after being hit by a second major fire in as many months.
The Aug. 1 fire broke out in a local elevator’s annex and a farmer-owned grain storage facility housed in the former Saskatchewan Wheat Pool elevator.
On June 28, fire destroyed the medical clinic, a restaurant, Sears catalogue outlet, movie rental shop and convenience store, along with a water purification business.
With harvest starting, this most recent loss of the Pioneer grain facility will create fewer delivery choices for local farmers.
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Murray Litwin of Foam Lake farms and cleans grain in the area and said the loss will be felt. He hopes that Pioneer will choose to rebuild the 1980s facility, but added local farmers aren’t optimistic.
“It means a lack of competition and local delivery. One more nail in a town’s coffin,” Litwin said.
Local farmers say the two facilities in the community already saw long lines of trucks before the fire and the loss will put more trucks on the already congested Yellowhead Highway that passes through the town of 1,200.
“Longer and longer hauls, less competition. Higher costs and lower prices for farmers, just in time for harvest,” Litwin said.
The fire started in the former Sask Pool elevator mid-afternoon and 60 km-h winds quickly spread it down the tracks to the Pioneer facility. The annex was 75 percent full of wheat at the time of the blaze, which continued to burn more than 24 hours after the alarm was sounded.
The Pioneer facility’s workhouse and main structure is concrete and its exterior sustained little damage.
Fire had claimed the concrete’s wooden annex before. In 1985 the annex had burned to the ground and was replaced the following year.
Metro Ostapoeich lives across the street from the elevators and two blocks from the site of the downtown blaze.
“I’ve lived here forever and this is something you don’t see too often,” he said.
“Two fires in one year. And big ones. It’ll be bad for local tax revenue if these businesses don’t rebuild. Bad for any small town like this.”
Ostapoeich spent the night hosing down his roof and putting out grass fires in his and neighbours’ yards.
Charred chunks of the two grain facilities were scattered up to 300 metres downwind from the site.
Mayor Bob Johnson quickly declared a state of emergency, giving the local council the right to call in water bombing helicopters from Yorkton, Sask., and Hudson Bay, Sask.
Five fire departments from the region responded to his requests for help, along with provincial emergency officials and local emergency measures organization volunteers.
“The whole community came out to assist in putting out the blaze, relocating the seniors and working on fire watch around town,” he said.
Senior Walter Karapik, who lives across the street from the burned elevators, was relocated to the community centre.
“Anytime you lose a business in a small town it’s one more reason people don’t stop here. I hope Pioneer rebuilds,” he said.
Johnson said grain truck traffic is important to Foam Lake.
“A lot of grain trucks come to town, to that Pioneer elevator. They buy fuel, meals, do other business. We hope Pioneer will rebuild,” he said.
“Pioneer provides five jobs to this town. Those are important to a small town and those people are our neighbours and friends. Fires like these are devastating, but we’ll get through it.”
Tom Hamilton of Pioneer said the company must evaluate the damage to its building and talk to the grain company’s local customer base before deciding the facility’s fate.
Litwin said Pioneer customers are already being diverted to the company’s terminal facility in Yorkton, 95 kilometres to the east.
Sask Pool has a modern concrete terminal in Foam Lake.
