A cabin burst into flames this weekend as firefighters fought to keep it contained

Added: 2026-05-26

[00:00:00]A weekend fire at Emma Lake saw firefighters spring into action trying to keep flames out of cottage from spreading to others. As Carla Shinkarik reports, intense heat played a role in the outcome.

[00:00:12]You can feel the heat from here. Flames could be seen from across Emma Lake as Lakeland and Buckland fire crews worked to contain the fire on the west side of Emma Lake at Guy's Beach. One structure was already heavily involved when fire crews arrived on scene.

[00:00:27]>> Wasn't much wind, but there was enough wind just to sort of start pushing the heat towards the other the second cabin.

[00:00:32]Um when the second cabin did start or become fully involved, the heat from it actually did melt some of the siding and stuff on the the next cabin south to that as well. But because the fire is believed to have started on the exterior, it spread quickly. Our dispatch said that there was a call that came in that there was an explosion. I wasn't on scene at the time, so I'm not sure, but uh no, there was no injuries from from any explosion. Thankfully, unlike last year at this time, snow has helped with moisture levels, so crews didn't have to worry as much about the fire spreading through the tender dry grass and brush, but they attacked it aggressively to be sure.

[00:01:07]>> Like even where the engine was parked and I could feel the heat on over that way as well. They always know that when you get there, the main priority is is structure protection to try and contain it and keep it from spreading. This seems climbing the tree now. We did have one tree, it was a spruce tree, a fairly tall one, that it did uh actually ignite, but with it being a spruce tree and fairly green, as long as the wind stayed down, I wasn't concerned of it going anywhere. We We didn't uh get it extinguished. Uh there's just trying to reach the height of the top of the tree was the biggest issue. Hewitt has been with the volunteer fire department for 30 years. This is probably the I think the first time where we've actually lost We've lost two at the same time.

[00:01:45]Firefighters set up a high-volume portable pump at the lakefront to draw water directly from Emma Lake, helping supply engines and tankers until about midnight. No one was injured in the fire as the seasonal cabins were not occupied at the time. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

[00:02:02]Not sure whose place it is. Karla Shinguard, CTV News, Saskatoon.