A fire that destroyed a grain elevator forced 100 people from their homes in a small southwestern Saskatchewan community early Tuesday morning.
Jason Gizen, a volunteer firefighter who lives and works near the elevator in the village of Prelate, said he and his wife noticed the fire around 5:45 a.m.
“We looked out the window and saw it was totally in flames,” said Gizen, who responded to the blaze, along with other volunteer firefighters and crews from nearby communities.
“We couldn’t really do much because it was just out of control. All they could do is just make sure nothing else started on fire.”
The fire was burning near some rail tanker cars, and it wasn’t known if they were empty or contained flammable goods, so the whole 100-person village was evacuated as a precaution.
No one was injured.
Gizen says the remains of the elevator were still smouldering later in the day.
“It’s just a bunch of ashes and grain with a couple bins standing beside it,” he said.
“It’s kind of sad. Every time we looked out the window, we could see the elevator. We drive past it seven or eight times a day and now it’s gone.”
The cause of the fire is not known.
