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Rachelle Domoslai never forgot the sacrifice firefighters made for her family — now she’s trying to pay it forward.
Her living room in Delisle is full of flats of drinks and boxes of food she plans to deliver to a fire crew base in Choiceland.
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“Every year when the forest fire season comes in, it weighs heavy on me,” Domoslai said.
With a severe start the wildfire season in 2025, causing over 8,000 people to evacuate in Saskatchewan, she said she is determined to help fire crews.
Domoslai has spent her time collecting donations from people to fill her cart at Costco with food and supplies for fire crews.
“It’s just been an emotional toll on me,” Domoslai said. “I wanted to find a way to take the stress and the emotions I’m feeling and put it into something that I can help.”
In 1999, Rachelle Domoslai was four years old when she was evacuated due to wildfires in Snow Lake, Manitoba, something she remembers as the “first traumatic experience of her life.” (Rachelle Domoslai/submitted)
In 1999, Domoslai was four years old when she was evacuated due to wildfires in Snow Lake, Manitoba, something she remembers as the “first traumatic experience of her life.”
“The only thing I remember from that experience is being loaded into the RCMP plane to be evacuated from the community and leaving my dad behind because he was a volunteer firefighter who was helping wetting down all the rooms of houses and properties to try to save the town,” she said.
The truck load and trailer of supplies is going to help fire crews near the Shoe Fire, who Domoslai said lost their shelters due to the fire at Lower Fishing Lake.
She’s borrowed a trailer from someone to haul up the supplies for her expedition up north.
“The person who I’m borrowing it from said I probably wouldn’t get enough donations to fill it,” Domoslai said. “I want to prove him wrong.”
Marlo Pritchard, president of the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency, said the outpouring of support from people dropping off food and supplies has been recognized.
“It has been amazing to watch and gratefully appreciated, but we’re going to all need to get through this together,” he said.
“Although it’s primarily affecting the north, we definitely are going to need the support from throughout this province as we work through the next coming weeks.”
Steve Roberts, vice-president of province’s safety agency, said he does not believe crews will be resting anytime soon with Environment and Climate Change Canada forecasting hot temperatures and high winds.
“Our crews are tired, without a doubt they are working long hours doing what needs to be done,” he said.
“It is work that is not always well received. There will be losses, there will be setbacks, and it is not due to lack of effort by the firefighters on the line.”
For the meantime, Roberts said he is hoping weather patterns change and bring moisture.
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