Historic Church Destroyed by Blaze in Sask. Village Plagued by Crime

The RCMP logo is seen outside the force's 'E' division headquarters in Surrey, B.C., on March 16, 2023. The Canadian Press/Darryl Dyck

The RCMP is investigating after fire destroyed an Anglican church over the weekend in a small northwestern Saskatchewan village that has been overrun with crime since the beginning of the summer.

The blaze destroyed St. George’s Church in Loon Lake in the early morning hours of Sept. 28. The village is located roughly 300 kilometres northwest of Saskatoon.

The incident marks the latest in dozens of church burnings and arsons in Canada over the past three years.

The church was consumed by flames and fire crews were on scene working to contain the blaze when officers arrived on scene, the RCMP said in a press release.

Built in 1939, the church still held a community service once per month, said George Rothenburger, St. George’s secretary.

Rothenburger said he learned of the fire when he got a phone call shortly after 5 a.m. on Sept. 28, and when stepped outside his home shortly after, he could see the flames shooting into the air.

The roof had already collapsed by the time Rothenburger got to the scene, but he said the tower with the bell was still standing. It fell soon afterward as firefighters focused on keeping the flames from spreading to surrounding trees.

Loon Lake Mayor Brian Hirschfeld said the village had actively been working to have the church declared a heritage site, but ran into a “few snags” that held up the process.

“That’s never going to happen now. It’s just a senseless loss,” Hirschfeld told the Epoch Times, adding that the fire has been unofficially confirmed as an act of arson by police.

“There’s been a lot of vandalism here: breaking of windows of vehicles, breaking of windows of houses, standoffs with the police with guns,” he said. “And this burning of the church was just the topping of the cake.”

RCMP say no one was in the church at the time and no injuries have been reported to police.

The investigation is still in its preliminary stages, police said. They are asking anyone who may have noticed suspicious behaviour near the church on the morning of Sept. 28 or who has information related to the fire to contact them.

Hirschfeld said the spate of vandalism and crime in the tiny community began during the summer months. Windows have been smashed at multiple businesses and parked vehicles have also been targeted on the street.

He said youths in the community have been identified as the culprits by business owners who have seen the rocks being thrown at their establishments. The youths, some allegedly as young as 10, have not been charged.

“The justice system is letting us down here,” Hirschfeld said. “You know, the underage thing, they can’t be punished. Well, that has to stop. This is ridiculous.”

Hirschfeld said he is considering declaring a state of emergency because the community isn’t getting the help it needs. Area law enforcement is shorthanded, he said, and that means priority is given to more serious issues like drug trafficking and gangs.

“It’s minor to them, but it’s become major to our community, because people are talking about vigilantism here now … it’s just scary.”

The mayor said he has heard several theories from taxpayers about the reason the church was targeted, but added that it’s not yet known if the fire is related to “Orange Shirt Day” (The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation marked on Sept. 30) or the ongoing vandalism.

Church Arsons

The first wave of church fires started after the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation announced in May 2021 that ground-penetrating radar had located possible burial sites of 215 children at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School. The sites have yet to be excavated.

Eleven churches in western Canada were burned to the ground in the weeks following the announcement in Kamloops. Each of the fires were determined to be arson by investigators.

While the frequency of church burnings has slowed since the initial onset, it has not stopped. Dozens of churches have been destroyed by fire in Canada since May of 2021. At its peak there were there were 90 arson attacks on churches in 2021 and 74 attacks in 2022, according to government data.

While police have made some arrests in relation to the burnings, many still have not resulted in arrests or convictions.

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.