Saskatchewan church destroyed by fire — police investigate possible arson

A fire destroyed St. George’s Anglican church in Loon Lake, SK early Saturday morning. The local RCMP detachment said the church was empty at the time of the blaze and were not aware of anyone being injured, the Toronto Star reported.

Police have started an investigation into what could be a case of arson but say they have no evidence at this time to suggest it was. But they are seeking any witnesses who may have seen suspicious activity around the church prior to the fire starting. George Rothenburger, who was the secretary at St. George’s, the building goes back to 1938 and was active with a monthly service.

Rothenburger was first alerted to the blaze with a 5 am phone call Saturday morning. He immediately dressed and as soon as he left his house he could see the flames from the nearby church. “It was going hundreds of feet in the air like a torch,” Rothenburger told the Canadian Press on Sunday. “There was no wind. So thank goodness it was safe for the rest of the town.”

The fire worked its way through the old building quickly and the roof quickly caved in but Rothenburger arrived on-scene in time to see the bell tower collapse to the ground. By that time, firefighters had arrived and were working to sustain the damage and prevent the flames from passing to nearby foliage.

Loon Lake Mayor Brian Hirschfeld told the Canadian Press that his community has seen a substantial increase in crime of late but he wouldn’t speculate whether the fire was another example of it. “People are concerned that there has been a lot of vandalism over the last four months and maybe this is all part and parcel of it, but we don’t know,” he said.

Arsonists have launched a virtual campaign against Canadian churches since 2021. At that time, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s former chief of staff, Gerald Butts, suggested these crimes “may be understandable.” Just before Christmas 2023, four churches were burned to the ground in what Conservative Party of Canada leader called a paroxysm of “anti-Christian hatred.”