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Nearly one year after the Wolf Fire destroyed more than 200 homes and structures around Denare Beach, many families are still waiting to come home.
While cleanup has been completed and new houses are beginning to arrive, the recovery has proven far slower than many expected. Insurance delays, contractor shortages and rebuilding challenges continue to keep some families out of their homes nearly a year after the fire changed the community forever.
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“Here we are already going to be a year into our claim, and people still haven’t even been able to start the rebuild process because they’re held up with insurance,” said Linda Lowe, whose home was destroyed in the fire.
“I have friends and neighbours that all they’ve been able to get out of their insurance for this past year is their current rent that they’re paying. They haven’t been given any scope of work for their land, any scope of work to rebuild.”
Linda Lowe’s Denare Beach home was destroyed by the Wolf Fire at the beginning of June 2025. (Linda Lowe/Submitted).
Lowe considers herself fortunate compared to some others.
Her replacement home has already been built and is waiting to be moved onto her property. But even that project remains on hold while she waits for approval to move forward with foundation work.
“Again, we’re in the process of looking for another rental because insurance has held up the progress of our house, so we can’t get into our house as we had planned,” she said.
The delays have forced many people to remain away from the community.
After the fire, Lowe and her family found temporary housing in Manitoba through personal connections.
Nearly a year later, they are preparing to move again because the home they have been renting is being sold.
Nothing was left of Dustin Trumbley’s home in Denare Beach after the wildfire ripped through the community. (Joanne Churchill/Submitted)
The practical challenges are only part of the recovery. For Lowe, returning to Denare Beach is still emotional.
“It’s still hard for me at times because the whole landscape has changed tremendously, and it just doesn’t quite look like home yet,” she said. “Every time I drive out there, it’s still a little stab.”
Entire blocks look different from what they did before the fire. Trees that once separated properties are gone. New houses are beginning to appear, but much of the familiar landscape remains absent.
“We were just joking amongst ourselves the other day about what we can see houses,” Lowe said. “We don’t have to drive around the blocks to see them, because it’s so barren right now.”
Still, there are signs of progress.
New homes continue to arrive in the community, and construction crews are busy throughout the area. Lowe said seeing those projects under way gives people hope, even if many are still waiting for their own chance to move home.
She estimates only a fraction of former residents have returned full time.
The anniversary also arrives as wildfires once again threaten communities across Saskatchewan.
Watching evacuations unfold near Shellbrook, Red Earth Cree Nation and elsewhere has brought back memories of the days leading up to the destruction of Denare Beach.
Lowe said she feels for the families now facing uncertainty.
“I’m feeling for the people right now at that Shellbrook area and the Lobstick area,” she said. “I can just foresee what’s going to happen if it isn’t caught right now.”
Looking back, she said there is one thing she wishes she had done before evacuating.
“Stop scrolling Facebook, turn your phone around, go video every room in your house, every closet, every cupboard,” Lowe said. “Then go out and do your garage and your outbuildings.”
When her family left Denare Beach, they believed they would be gone only a few days.
“We just took basically an overnight bag, thinking we would be home after the weekend,” she said.
Instead, they never returned to the house.
Lowe now encourages anyone facing an evacuation to gather important documents, photographs and records before leaving.
“You really need to make that evac bag with all your important papers, your birth certificates,” she said. “The more you take with you, the less hassle you’re going to have when you have to deal with insurance.”
Lowe said recovery remains a work in progress. For many families, the fire may be over, but rebuilding their lives is still under way.
Samaritan’s Purse volunteers search for valuables at Denare Beach after the 2025 Wolf Fire. (Samaritan’s Purse Canada/Submitted)
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