By Nigel Maxwell

Leask hotel goes up in smoke

Feb 9, 2011 | 6:53 AM

A hotel in a small central Saskatchewan community is no more.

Early Wednesday morning, a fire consumed the Leask Hotel.

The local volunteer fire department was called in around 3 a.m.

“It was an older building, one of our originals.  It was built in 1912 … lots of dry wood, layers of paint and varnish … when it went up, it went up like a Roman candle,” said Murray Donohue, volunteer fire fighter.

Donohue said they were able to save the nearby buildings on the tightly packed Main Street.  

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No word yet on the cause.

The Mayor of Leask said they were preparing for a centennial party for the hotel in 2012.

“I got called around 4 a.m. and by the time I arrived there were only a few walls left,” said Mayor Maurice Stieb.

“I'd like to tip my hat off to the Town of Blaine Lake, the Town of Shellbrook and the Town of Leask fire fighters. Without them, we would have lost another business or two.”

Leask is located about 80 kilometres southwest of Prince Albert and is home to roughly 470 people.

For more photos see the Leask fire gallery.

nmaxwell@panow.com