'It's a staple for downtown': Kamsack residents remember historic hotel lost in weekend blaze

KAMSACK, SASK -

Following a full weekend of putting out flames at the historic Woodlander Hotel in Kamsack – many residents in the area were sad to say goodbye to the landmark.

“I came here a lot with a lot of friends and family,” local resident Aaron Kakaway told CTV News. “Unfortunately it has a lot of history and hopefully they build something in the near future.”

The hotel was built in 1912 and had a restaurant added to it in 1960.

Serving people for decades, Kamsack’s Town Administrator Barry Hvidston said the local hotel and bar was a landmark in the community.

"It's a staple for downtown, everyone knew the Woodlander,” Hvidston explained.

“I've had a lot of people come to me saying they've met their wives, husbands, a lot of people have memories of the Woodlander over the years, whether they still live in the community or not."

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The historic site had been standing for 111 years.

During the night of the fire on Dec. 8, Kamsack’s Volunteer Fire Department was assisted by the Rhein Fire Department during the intense situation.

Hvidston thanked all of the firefighters for their hard work.

"The fire department, public works, water treatment plant operators, they all worked extremely hard,” he said. “They maintained control of that fire and they did an outstanding job. Having a fire blaze like that and only lose one building, it's amazing what they did."

Once Saskatchewan’s Public Safety Agency (SPSA) is finished with its investigation, the town of Kamsack will be able to clean up the area and reopen the corner of Third Avenue and Nykolaishen Drive to the public.