After the firestorm: Loss and hope in Saskatchewan's scorched north

It was a beautiful day when we hit the road, heading north toward La Ronge. The skies were mostly clear, the air no longer smelling of smoke. It was the kind of day that made it hard to imagine the chaos that had unfolded just weeks before.

Wildfires, made worse by a dry spring, forced thousands of Saskatchewan people from their homes.

With the worst of the danger behind, at least for now, we wanted to see what was left behind — in the forests, the communities and the people's lives — after the flames moved on.

We started seeing the first signs of fire a few kilometres south of Weyakwin. Small patches of burnt forest grew into large, blackened swaths.

The sides of the highways were like graveyards full of skeletons that used to be trees. In some spots, scorched trunks leaned and toppled like fallen matchsticks. In others, the fire had burned so hot that only charred stumps remained.

The flames did not just devour forests. They took homes, too.

Gregg Charles and his wife have been living in a tent in a family member's backyard in Air Ronge. Their cabin, 40 kilometres south of the village, burned to the ground.

"It's always been my home. My parents were trappers over there," Charles said.

"Sewing, beadwork, even a leather jacket [my wife] made for me, all those are lost."

Both were raised on a trapline. He isn't interested in staying in a city. He belongs in the wilderness.

Charles is optimistic their living situation will improve soon. His community is working on finding a place for them.

"I'm just thankful that me and my wife and my other family are OK, that's the main thing," he said.

"We can lose structures and stuff like that, we can rebuild. But if you lose a life you can never see that person again."

Bob Forward also has strong connections to the area.