It was just horrific: Camper describes wildfire devastation at Pine Grove Resort [Video]

Smoke on the horizon was the first sign of trouble. But for one camper at Pine Grove Resort at Saskatchewan’s East Trout Lake, it quickly turned into a terrifying wait.

“I was keeping an eye on the Shoe fire, particularly because there was very little information coming out from anywhere, and it was really hard,” said Joanne Dorward, camper at East Trout Lake.

The last day she was at the site was the Saturday of the May long weekend. She recalled firefighters arriving to install sprinklers, including one placed directly on her lot.

“We were thinking, you know, we’re going to be good, our property is going to be OK,” she said.

But then came the moment she’ll never forget.

“Monday morning, I put on the stream from the Wi-Fi camera that we have set up at the campground and literally just watched the fire get closer and closer and closer,” said Dorward. “Until the point where the Wi-Fi went down and I assumed the camera …