A restaurant owner in Waskesiu, Sask., says wildfire smoke near Prince Albert National Park is causing confusion and panic, and hurting local businesses during their busiest time of year.
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Erin Barber, who owns Happy Campers Bar and Grill in the lakeside resort community, said she supports public health advisories, but believes a recent emergency alert about smoke was misunderstood by many as a fire evacuation notice.
“There’s no fire evacuation going on,” Barber said. “So as far as we are all concerned, the media has created widespread panic and we are now losing out as businesses.”
Parks Canada issued a wildfire pre-emergency alert on Sunday evening due to the Buhl Fire. The alert warned of deteriorating air quality and visibility from smoke, and encouraged people with lung conditions, young children or elderly residents to consider leaving temporarily.
In a virtual media briefing Tuesday evening, Parks Canada said that fire is 31 kilometres away from the Waskesiu townsite, which is about 200 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon.
WATCH | The streets of Waskesiu are much quieter after a wildfire pre-emergency alert:
The town of Waskesiu, Sask., in the heart of Prince Albert National Park, was issued a wildfire pre-emergency alert over the weekend. Some businesses question the call.
Barber said her restaurant has seen a sharp drop in business since the Sunday alert. Many visitors packed up and left the community Monday morning, even though there has been no official evacuation order and no immediate threat to the townsite, she said.
“It was busy. It was like a normal summer day,” said Barber. “And now it’s like a ghost town.”
She said she understands why vulnerable people might choose to leave, but that public messaging should have been clearer.
“There will be an emergency alert that goes out that every single person will get if there’s any risk to the townsite,” Barber said. “That hasn’t happened.”
‘Not as bad as people would think’
Farther up the road, the general manager of the Waskesiu Trading Company, a bakery and grocery store, said the smoke in Waskesiu is not as bad as people perceive.
“We’re still actually able to just barely see across the lake there right now,” Jason Carroll told CBC early Tuesday morning, lifting his phone to show what looked like a light fog in the air.
He said the community had “nice clear skies” Monday until smoke kicked in toward the afternoon, “but still not as bad as people would think.”
The pre-emergency alert was a surprise to Carroll, who said conditions are much worse elsewhere.
“I’ve talked to some people over the phone who are in Prince Albert,” said Carroll. “The smoke is actually a lot worse there than what it is here.”
While the business is still running as usual, it is a lot quieter than is typical on a day in July.
“It’s like how it is in spring and fall,” said Carroll, who has baked at the business over the last five summers. “Definitely a dip down for sure compared to usual.”
Carroll said the alert won’t take as large of a toll on his business, which often serves food to firefighters in these kinds of situations, as it will for non-food related businesses like the local gift shop and liquor stores.
He said there could have been better communication around what the alert really means.
“I feel like from my understanding the alert was more for the smoke, for people with, you know, asthma, the elderly, stuff like that,” Carroll said. “[Tourists] are worried about the fire rather than the smoke.”
David Archer, co-owner of the Waskesiu Trading Company, echoed the need for better communication from Parks Canada.
He said it’s not likely the wildfire will move toward the community, based on previous years.
“Winds tend to move westerly in this part of this area,” Archer said.
He said there should be daily updates to better inform businesses and visitors.
“People plan their vacations months in advance,” he said. “Let them continue with their life and make informed decisions.”
‘Expect the communications to improve’: Parks Canada
Greg Walker, an incident commander for Parks Canada, said the alert was issued as fire encroached into Prince Albert National Park.
“Although there’s no immediate threat to the communities of Waskesiu and the nearby outlying ones, there still is a threat from the wildfires up to the northeast of the park,” Greg Walker said on CBC’s Saskatoon Morning Tuesday.
He said the park may not be a stranger to wildfires, but weather conditions are different this year.
“There’s a long-standing drought in this area of the country. And so the wildfire activity and extreme fire behaviour that’s happened throughout the province of Saskatchewan [and] Manitoba this year is related to that,” Walker said.
Parks Canada wants to be proactive in its evacuation efforts, he said, and a pre-emergency alert makes things run smoother if a full evacuation order is issued.
“If we evacuate, there will be congestion. There will be people with special needs, will be susceptible people,” Walker said. “The other pieces, the air quality and the smoke, is going to affect some people.”
In the meantime, Parks Canada has brought in specialists, including the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency, to present a unified front in fighting the fire.
“We expect the communications to improve. We’ll dedicate a number of people to that and the communications will become quite a bit more regular,” Walker said.
Waskesiu visitors weigh the risks
Dale and Holly Berg drove up from Saskatoon hoping to escape the smoky skies.
“I have never been to Waskesiu townsite in the middle of July where there’s so few people,” Dale said. “The restaurants are empty and the store — everything’s open, which is great — but there’s just no people walking around.”
The couple said they’re paying close attention to updates and are ready to leave if needed.
“We’re just staying updated and if there is some kind of an evacuation notice, I guess we’re gonna have to follow that notice and get the heck out of here,” Dale said. “We have a full tank of gas and we’re ready to go.”
The Bergs said their hotel was accommodating, offering refunds in case guests with health concerns or young children had to cancel. They say they feel for the businesses and families whose summer plans have been disrupted.
“Everybody’s been chased away, but I understand why too,” Holly said.
Mail forwarding for Beauval
Meanwhile, residents of Beauval — a village about 170 kilometres northwest of Waskesiu that has been fully evacuated due to the Muskeg fire burning nearby — can sign up for free mail forwarding, Canada Post said on Tuesday.
“If a customer receives regular cheques through the mail, it’s important for them to register,” Canada Post said in a news release.
Residents can register online using a credit card to authenticate their identity, or go to any post office with government-issued photo ID to sign up
Mail forwarding can be done on a short-term basis or for longer periods, Canada Post said. Residents have until Aug. 15 to register, and can have their mail forwarded for up to 12 months. Refunds will be processed automatically if eligible residents had already purchased the service between July 3 and July 15.
Canada Post said that residents from other communities affected by wildfire were also eligible for the offer, but the registration dates have passed.
Residents of Creighton, Pelican Narrows, Sandy Bay, Southend and Weyakwin had a registration deadline of July 5, while Air Ronge, Canoe Narrows, Denare Beach, Deschambault Lake, La Ronge and Timber Bay had a deadline of July 11.
Up-to-date info on active fires, smoke and related topics is available at these sources:
