'It lit on contact': Canada's oldest grain elevator burns down

A grain elevator that was considered the oldest still-standing grain elevator in Canada, burned to the ground in Elva, Man. earlier this week.

The fire happened on Tuesday at the Lake of the Woods Milling Company elevator, which dated back to 1897. Crews from The Den Authentic Barnwood, which purchased the elevator, had been working to reclaim the wood from the structure.

Owner Troy Angus said the fire started during the cleanup phase. Crews were conducting a controlled burn of debris in a nearby slough. The workers were staying behind to ensure the fire from the controlled burn would be extinguished once it was finished.

“The wind was coming from the south all day, and then in the last hour of the day, the wind started switching directions on us,” Angus said.

The Lake of the Woods Milling Company grain elevator was built back in September 1897. It is being dismantled after standing for nearly 125 years in the southwest Manitoba community of Elva. It is believed to be the oldest remaining wooden grain elevator in Canada. March 4, 2022 (Source: Josh Crabb/CTV News)

As the burn was happening, an ember floated up in the air and went inside a hole in the elevator the size of a football, Angus said.

“It lit on contact,” he said. “We saw everything happen, reacted right away, and knew the elevator would have to come down immediately.

“Within 10 minutes, the elevator was fully engulfed and on its way down.”'

Angus said he and the team used equipment to help bring the burning elevator down and divert the fire from nearby power lines.

He said nobody was injured.

“It’s a terrible thing because it was not part of the plan,” Angus said. “The plan was to save this elevator and reclaim the wood and save it from fire, and ironically, it was on fire.”

Angus said a nearby United Grain Growers elevator also purchased by his company was not damaged and his crew will be working to reclaim the wood from that elevator.

“The project must go on, there’s no two ways about it,” he said. “We have one elevator, there is a tremendous amount of wood we’re going to have to collect to make up for what we lost.”