Fires at Gem Lakes, Summit Lake, and Lost Echo Lake in Narrow Hills Provincial Park (Updated May 21)
Update May 21 evening
The Highway Hotline is now showing Highway 106 open through Narrow Hills Provincial Park. The situation could change rapidly so please be aware and check before heading up.
Update on May 21 afternoon
Report from Facebook is that East Trout Lake has now been evacuated. It sounds like the fire is still quite a distance from the townsite but it is threatening Highway 927 preventing access to the lake.
One positive note is that the pre-evacuation alert for Candle Lake has been lifted. Fire bans still in place.
Update on May 21
The SHOE and CAMP fires are still not contained and crews are working on them. There wasn't too much to report based on the May 20th Fire Situational Awareness Bulletin. There are some changes to highway statuses though. Check out the photos below for the updates from the bulletin.
This morning Highway 120 is still reported as open on Highway Hotline, but Highway 912 past Nipekamew Lake is now closed. Highway 106 north is closed north of Smeaton to the Junction with 913, and Highway 913 is closed between the 912/913 junction and the 913/106 junction.
The pre-evacuation alert for the Resort Village of Candle Lake and Whiteswan Lake is still in place.
Stay safe out there!
May 20 Fire Situational Awareness Bulletin
Update on May 20
Quick update on the morning of Tuesday May 20th.
The Highway Hotline updated last night and is now reporting Highway 120 as being open through Narrow Hills Provincial Park and up past Little Bear Lake. There are still active fires so obviously this situation could change rapidly. If you're driving though the area double check the Highway Hotline before you go and give any fire crews lots of space.
Stay safe out there!
Update on May 19
The SHOE fire and CAMP fire are both still Not Contained. Sprinklers are still running at Piprell Lake. Sprinklers have also been setup pre-emptively at on East Trout Lake. It sounds like there may have been a tiny bit of scattered rain on the area of the fires.
The SHOE fire is now starting to approach Piprell Lake on the east side.
Highways remain closed through Narrow Hills Provincial Park, and according to the highway hotline, it looks like Highway 106 is now closed all the way to the Junction with Highway 165, but people on Facebook mentioned that they were able to drive it on Friday and it wasn't closed at that point. Check the Highway Hotline for updated info, but I guess it looks like it may not always be accurate in this situation.
Here is hoping for rain this week!
May 19 Fire Situational Awareness Bulletin
Update on May 18
The SHOE fire and CAMP fire are both still Not Contained. There wasn't much else new to report today from the Fire Situational Awareness Bulletin. There was a plan to perform a back burn to stop the progress of the fires today May 18th. This will result in an increase of smoke in the Candle Lake area if it went ahead.
The pre-evacuation alert for the Resort Village of Candle Lake and Whiteswan Lake is still in place. Only update I have on Piprell Lake is that there have been a few big flare ups over the last few days.
The RM of Paddockwood is asking residents to pre-register with the Sask Provincial Evacuation app in case an evacuation is declared at https://app.saskecs.ca/. They also ask residents to make sure they have plans for any pets during a possible evacuation.
Highways remain closed through Narrow Hills Provincial Park, and according to the highway hotline, it looks like Highway 106 is now closed all the way to the Junction with Highway 165, which blocks access to Little Bear Lake. Someone on Facebook said they had been told at Little Bear that the highway would be closed till at least Monday and possibly longer. Check the Highway Hotline for updated info.
May 18 Fire Situational Awareness Bulletin
Update on May 17
The SHOE fire in Narrow Hills Provincial Park remains not contained. Someone on Facebook reported sprinklers being setup at Katche Kamp and Pine Grove Resort on East Trout Lake.
The pre-evacuation alert for the Resort Village of Candle Lake and Whiteswan Lake is still in place. I haven't heard any further updates on Piprell Lake.
The CAMP fire North of Snowden is also not contained and they are now bringing in a water bomber to help. Candle Lake is being used as one of the water sources so please be mindful if you are out on the water.
Highways remain closed through Narrow Hills Provincial Park, and according to the highway hotline, it looks like Highway 106 is now closed all the way to the Junction with Highway 165, which blocks access to Little Bear Lake. Someone on Facebook said they had been told at Little Bear that the highway would be closed till at least Monday and possibly longer. Check the Highway Hotline for updated info.
May 17 Fire Situational Awareness Bulletin
Update on May 16
The SHOE fire in Narrow Hills Provincial Park remains uncontained. Not much to update from the May 16 Fire Situational Awareness Bulletin. It does sound like sprinklers will be set up at East Trout Lake.
Highways remain closed through Narrow Hills Provincial Park, and according to the highway hotline, it looks like Highway 106 is now closed all the way to the Junction with Highway 165, which blocks access to Little Bear Lake.
May 16 Fire Situational Awareness Bulletin
Update on May 15
The SHOE fire in Narrow Hills Provincial Park remains uncontained. According to the May 15 Fire Situational Awareness Bulletin, sprinklers are now being set up at John Bosco Camp on Zeden Lake and crews are fighting the fire on the far north end near Stuart Lake to prevent it from spreading towards East Trout Lake.
I've seen mentioned on Facebook that travel to East Trout Lake is not recommended, and evacuation is a possibility.
The Resort Village of Candle Lake has issued a pre-alert for possible evacuation as well.
Highways remain closed through Narrow Hills Provincial Park. If you're heading north for the long weekend, you'll have to find an alternate route.
May 15 Fire Situational Awareness Bulletin
Update on May 14
The SHOE fire in Narrow Hills Provincial Park remains uncontained. According to the May 14 Fire Situational Awareness Bulletin, it sounds like sprinklers are still running at Piprell Lake, and the fire crews are still hard at work. Highways remain closed through the park. If you're heading north for the long weekend, you'll have to find an alternate route.
Update on May 13
We've had official confirmation now from Sask Parks that there was significant damage to the forests at Gem Lakes and Lost Echo Lake. They have announced that the Gem Lakes Campground and Lost Echo Lake Campground will be closed for the rest of the 2025 camping season. If you have a reservation at either of these campgrounds, the park will be contacting you to re-book at another campground or offer a refund.
The entire Narrow Hills Provincial Park will remain closed until May 29th, and anyone with a reservation in May at other Narrow Hills Campgrounds will receive the same option to re-book or be refunded.
Statement from SaskParks on Facebook
Update on May 12
Not much new to report today as an update. The outline of the fire on the provincial wildfire map hasn't been updated since yesterday. It sounds like there are at least 3 helicopters and a water bomber fighting the fire, and attempts are being made to get additional planes.
A post on FB reported that the fire burned up to the edge of Upper Fishing Lake, but did not jump Highway 106, so at that point, Caribou Creek, Lower Fishing Lake, Shannon Lake, Ispuchaw Lake, and Zeden Lake had been spared.
From the FIRMS map, it appears the fire has moved away from the Gem Lakes and Summit Lake and moved further south.
If you have any updates or photos to share please let me know!
Update on May 11
From the map on the provincial site, it does look like the fire went through the Gem Lakes, the east side of Summit Lake, and Lost Echo Lake. It looks like it went right up against Upper Fishing Lake and is worryingly close to Lower Fishing Lake.
According to the Rainbow Lodge FB Page, they are now setting up sprinklers in the yard of the lodge at Piprell Lake, and fires are now burning on both sides of Highway 913.
If anyone has updates or photos they can share, please let me know.
Original Article
According to reports on Facebook, parts of the forests around the Gem Lakes, Summit Lake, and Lost Echo Lake have burned. I want to stress that these are early reports, and although I have seen a few photos of the shoreline at Jade Lake having burned, we don't know the extent of the damage. Until we know more, I'm going to hold out hope that the damage isn't total.
I'll continue to update this article as more information becomes available. Once the fires are contained, I'll head up to check the area out.
These lakes are located in the north-west part of Narrow Hills Provincial Park. In that area, Rainbow Lodge at Piprell Lake has been evacuated, and there are still active fires and road closures. Please avoid the area, until the fires are under control.
The Gem Lakes are an incredibly popular destination, and many of us have years' worth of memories from there.
If you have photos to share of the Gem's or any of the other lakes in that area, please let me know!
Photos of the Gem Lakes
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It was so fun to stand in the water at the tiny beach and have the little fish come and pick at my feet!
