Watch above: This week marks one year since a fire ravaged a historic block of downtown Moose Jaw. It destroyed several businesses and more than a dozen homes. It hasn’t been an easy recovery but for some people, a sense of normalcy has returned. Steve Silva has the story.
MOOSE JAW, Sask. – A year after a fire destroyed part of a historic block in downtown Moose Jaw, memories of that night still linger.
“Being with my family, seeing the business burn down right before our eyes, and knowing that there was nothing that we could do about it, that definitely was the hardest part,” said Morgan Gabel, a sales associate at Scrubs.
The family-run business, which specializes in nursing attire, was four-years-old at the time. It was one of three other businesses and 13 apartments destroyed in the fire in what is known as Jubilee Block. Scrubs was relocated to a store on Main Street last year.
“Five months without a steady income from one of our parents, it’s pretty hard. A family of five, it can be tough for sure,” said Gabel on Saturday.
The Moose Jaw Fire Department conducted an investigation and came up empty-handed regarding the cause of the fire. The damage was so extensive, that question may never be answered.
The landowners’ 26-year-old photography studio, Sooter Studios Moose Jaw, was also destroyed.
“To watch my wife’s whole history go down in flames,” said Ron Desrochers, co-owner of the land, in regards to the business. “It touches you quite a bit.”
He said that two of the four businesses that used to operate from the building have since reopened.
Moose Jaw is known as North America’s mural capital; however, a piece of that distinction was lost in the fire.
“The mural on the wall stood out. It was part of the community,” said Desrochers, adding that we plans to put the land up for sale.
The mayor of Moose Jaw said that the lot is ready for the next big thing.
“I’m sure that there is some opportunity for some successful development on that corner,” said Mayor Deb Higgins on Friday.
Gabel, who expects to be finished with her nursing education in four weeks, said the fire resulted in a new beginning for the store, one they have grown accustomed to and enjoy.
That said, the past is still in her family’s thoughts, and it has been commemorated in the form of a shoe showcased in a glass container in the store.
“Lo’ and behold, this pink shoe was sitting right on top,” recalled Gabel of the time her family found the item, one of the store’s only salvageable products, in the debris of the building.
On top of the case, a quotation engraved on a plaque reads: “A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.”
“We did it, we survived and we live to tell the story. We rose from the ashes,” said Gabel.
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