The Village of Loreburn is left reeling in the wake of Sunday's Elevator Fire. 

Over the course of three hours, the 1975-built grain elevator burnt down to the ground. 

The fire was initially reported by a travelling motorist who first thought the smoke was grain dust. Upon approaching to see who was working on a Sunday, they realized it was smoke spilling out of the structure. 

Loreburn Mayor Lawrence Casey recounted the details as first responders reacted to the call. 

"Everyone reacted quite quickly," said Casey. "I headed down there shortly after the call came in. Maybe 20 minutes after the initial call, there was already smoke and flames coming out of the roof. So it went up very quickly."

The Loreburn Fire Department, led by Fire Chief Steven South, was the first one to arrive. They were accompanied by the Elbow Fire Department, who were in town for a training exercise. Not long after, the Davidson Fire Department also responded to help fight the fire. 

Crews were hard at work ensuring the fire stayed contained to the initial structure of the elevator, preventing its spread. At one point, they lost power, making the fight dependent on the direction of the wind. 

"We were kind of nervous, but the wind switched for us, and actually we were pretty confident after that that everything would be safe," said Casey. "It worked out well for us when the wind switched in our favour. If it would have been three weeks or a month ago without the snow cover, it would have been a disaster."

This elevator may only be rubble now, but hope has not gone out in Loreburn.  As it was, the elevator was still in use, moving grain down to the United States. It was operated by the Vermont-based F.W. Cobbs Company. Casey is hopeful that the owners will want to rebuild to continue their business in the area. 

"We're hoping that they can rebuild. There's lots of space on our sidetracks in town," said Casey. "There was a lot of grains shipped out of here. It collected grain from all over Saskatchewan."