Canadian Forces Station Dana (CFS Dana) was a military radar station 35 miles east of
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Yellowhead Highway, and has served as ...
, in the
Rural Municipality of Bayne, Saskatchewan.
RCAF Station Dana (also known as Sage Hill) was opened in 1962 as part of the
Pinetree Line
The Pinetree Line was a series of radar stations located across the northern United States and southern Canada at about the 50th parallel north, along with a number of other stations located on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. Run by North Ame ...
of
NORAD
North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD ), known until March 1981 as the North American Air Defense Command, is a combined organization of the United States and Canada that provides aerospace warning, air sovereignty, and protection ...
radar stations. The station was later renamed CFS Dana when the military branches were merged. The station was part of
45 Radar Squadron 45 may refer to:
* 45 (number)
* one of the years 45 BC, AD 45, 1945, 2045
Film
* ''45'' (film), directed by Peter Coster (2009)
* ''.45'' (film), directed by Gary Lennon (2006)
Music
* ''45'' (Jaguares album), 2008
* ''45'' (Kino album), 1982
* ...
. The station was disbanded in 1987.
The station consisted of three pulsed radars, and support facilities, including barracks, married quarters (trailers), a school, chapel, bowling alley and gym. The site was powered by a natural gas-fired power plant, that also generated steam for heating some of the buildings.
Disbandment
In 1988, the station was closed with the decommissioning of the Pinetree Line. The Sagehill Development Corporation bought the site in the late 1980s for $180,000. For some time, the PMQs (trailers) were rented out to civilians, but they are no longer there. For a time in the early 1990s, a company was producing soups and other foodstuffs there, but they ceased operations within a few years. In the mid to late 1990s, the base was sold to a farmer. As of 2011, the buildings are in disrepair, with roofs collapsing on some of them. Only one radar tower remains and its radome has been deflated. The owner recently died and current ownership is unknown, but it was used as a buffalo ranch as of 2021.
Sage Hill Writing Experience
The Sage Hill Writing Experience started using the former camp and town-site to hold an annual writing school in 1990; through the school moved to other venues after 1993 it continued to use the Sage Hill name.
References
External links
Pinetreeline.org - Description of DanaSage Hill Development Corporation1997 video documentary by Greg Marshall - Stories from Canada's role in the Cold War and NORAD/nowiki>
Bayne No. 371, Saskatchewan
Canadian Forces bases in Saskatchewan
Royal Canadian Air Force stations
Division No. 15, Saskatchewan
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