The fire happened near the hamlet of Grandora, which is about 18 kilometres west of Saskatoon.

A New Year's Day fire on an acreage west of Saskatoon has left a family of six without a home.

Firefighters were called to the house just south of the hamlet of Grandora just before 4 p.m.

Heavy smoke could be seen several kilometres away and the home was fully ablaze when fire crews arrived.

Ryan Goeres, a transmitter technologist for CBC, was visiting a home nearby when he saw the fire.

"[We] saw this big pile of smoke gradually getting bigger and bigger and bigger, so we went over there," he said. "Basically, the whole left side of the house was on fire and engulfed in flames."

The family had been out visiting and wasn't at home when the fire broke out. When

The family includes a mother, father and four children ranging in age from three months to seven years.

The father told CBC News that they are staying with his parents right now.

Not long after the fire was out, neighbours were rallying to help them.

Randy Fernets, who lives a few kilometres away, is part of a group collecting clothes for the children.

"Just to show them the community cared," Fernets said.

Two large boxes have already been collected, he said.

The initial damage estimate is $300,000. Investigators are trying to find out how it started.