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Fire crews from Kawartha Lakes and Cavan-Monaghan joined forces to combat a fire at the Wutai Shan Buddhist Garden on Ski Hill Road, south of Omemee.
According to Kawartha Lakes Fire Rescue Service fire Chief Terry Jones, the fire was reported shortly before 2 p.m. Sunday (July 24), involving one of the temple structures currently under construction.
The cause of the fire is presently unknown along with the damage estimated. No injuries were reported.
Jones noted, while the fire is technically in Cavan-Monaghan’s jurisdiction, crews from Omemee, Lindsay, Bethany, Pontypool and Janetville halls were first responders to the scene.
For several hours fire trucks could be seen coming and going from the site, filling up at a nearby water supply to battle the blaze.
The aerial truck from Lindsay was also brought on site and “made great headway” in bringing the three-storey blaze under control.
Terry Leslie, who lives on nearby Hogsback Road, said he and his wife Donna McMullen were in their home when they saw smoke shortly after 2 p.m.
“We came outside to see and that’s when we could really see the flames and knew it wasn’t anybody simply burning brush,” said Leslie. “I went straight back into the house and called 911 but they’d already had gotten a bunch of calls.”
The couple returned outside armed with binoculars and caught the fire suddenly bloom.
“You could tell that it was well engulfed by then. You could see that the roof had collapsed because the flames just really shot up,” added Leslie.
According to the Cham Shan Temple website, the site’s main wooden temple was built according to the Tang-style architecture with the ancient Chinese construction method called “Dougong”, using wooden interlocking brackets without nails. The grand temple is a replica of the 1,200-year-old Foguang Temple in China, which is still in good order.
Construction materials for the main temple consist of high-grade rosewood, camphor wood, and yew wood. All wooden construction materials are treated with five tons of natural varnish to prevent decay, insect infestation and splitting.
The entire property spans more than 530 acres and is one of four purchased by the Buddhist Association of Canada Cham Shan Temple. Development is expected to take decades. The entire budget for the project has been estimated at $80 million, with construction costs covered by donations.
The Garden had been closed to visitors due to the COVID-19 pandemic and was rescheduled to reopen to the public in 2023.
With files from Peterborough This Week
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