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Summer plans have gone up in smoke as wildfires shut down campsites in the Gem Lakes and Lost Echo Lake areas for the 2025 season.
Because of the blaze, the entire Narrow Hills Provincial Park campground, located 300 kilometres north east of Saskatoon, will remain closed until May 29.
Saskatchewan Parks Assistant Deputy Minister Paul Johnson said the wildfires are still burning and the area needs at least two weeks for the damage to be properly assessed. He noted that the timeline could be extended.
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According to Tourism Saskatchewan, the Gem Lakes are “a cluster of deep, sand-bottomed lakes reflecting colours of emerald, jade and aqua blue” with a 5.5-km interpretive hiking trail that winds around the outer edges of the lakes.
Johnson said “unfortunately” the two remote campgrounds in the provincial park were caught in a sweeping wildfire, forcing them to close for the rest of the year.
“It burned all the structures that we had there,” he said, noting picnic tables, pit toilets, and a shed were all wiped in the blaze.
“It’s not substantial, but certainly it’s significant.”
Johnson said the amount of burnt standing trees present a significant public safety risk, and expressed concern over the state of the hiking trail around Gem Lakes due to its sloped terrain.
“We’re really concerned about erosion now without any vegetation to hold the soil in place,” he said. “It’s been really devastating for those two very popular campgrounds.”
He said Saskatchewan Parks is working closely with the province’s public safety agency to share information about risks, road closures and the impacts to the park.
“We are actually supplying them with water within the main campground right now,” he said.
Those who made campground reservations have been contacted by Saskatchewan Parks and have been offered a refund or a chance to rebook.
Johnson is hopeful both campgrounds can reopen next year, but said it is too early as the situation is still unfolding.
“The good news is the vegetation comes back fairly quickly in these areas,” he said, noting that trees could take up to 20 years to grow back.
Ralph Danczak owns a family cabin about 15 minutes from the Gem Lakes and had to evacuate the area last week.
“It just would have been nice to be at the lake on the long weekend,” he said.
Now with campgrounds closed, Danczak expects the area to be quiet this season.
“The Gem Lakes was a big attraction up there,” he said.
Danczak said he suspects the Rainbow Lodge area, which is about 10 minutes from Gem Lakes, will still see some traffic.
“The people are really good there and friendly, so they should be okay,” he said. “As long as this fire stays away from us.”
