Residents of the Northern Village of Denare Beach, Sask., and Saskatchewan’s Opposition NDP say the provincial government failed the village as a wildfire approached nearly a month ago.
Denare Beach is located close to the Saskatchewan-Manitoba border and has approximately 700 year-round residents. More than 200 homes were destroyed by the Wolf fire.
People from the village say it received no help from the Sask. Party government, despite high winds, dry weather and how fast the Wolf fire was moving. They also say the province has not been helpful during evacuation proceedings or as residents returned to find their community devastated by the fire.
“I stand here without a home, and I don’t want anyone else to experience the pain and loss that my family and I have endured,” Denare Beach resident Jennifer Hysert said at an NDP news conference in the village on Thursday.
“The Wolf fire took nearly everything my family has built over the past 25 years. What makes this loss even more painful is learning that it could have been avoided,” resident Jennifer Hysert said.
Residents and their MLA are calling for accountability from the government for “failing” their community and for immediate action to rebuild it for the future.
Both Manitoba and Saskatchewan declared provincial states of emergencies. But Jordan McPhail, NDP MLA for Cumberland, said the Village of Denare Beach wants to know why Premier Scott Moe didn’t call in federal help for their community, unlike the Manitoba government, which called for military help immediately.
That military help was used just 22 kilometres northeast of Denare Beach to Flin Flon, Man.
“I think Scott Moe and Tim McLeod [minister of corrections, policing and public safety] need to answer to the people as to how does this happen in Canada when you didn’t even involve the Canadian government, the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and Operation LENTUS, and the many things that the military could have brought to the front lines of these fires.”
Operation LENTUS is the CAF response for natural disasters in Canada. Its primary objective is to help provincial and local authorities ensure the safety of residents.
Denare Beach, Sask., was one of the communities worst-hit by Saskatchewan’s wildfires. As residents and community leaders now look to rebuild, some are critiquing the provincial government for pain they say was avoidable.
McPhail said the Denare Beach had no help when residents were displaced, and has no help now that they’ve returned home to rubble.
“No clear direction from the provincial government on how to get assistance. No plan in place to get resources here so this community can begin to rebuild,” he said.
Paul Rossington, operations manager with Big Ice Services, a local construction company that provided equipment and manpower to local firefighters, said it did so because the province did not address calls for help.
He said things may have been different if the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) made different choices.
“There was no extra sprinkler gear for Denare Beach, or fire retardant drops or ground crews spraying fire retardant. None of that. Minimal extra fire trucks were deployed. So Denare Beach was left to burn,” Rossington said.
The SPSA has not provided a public update on the fires since earlier this week, and the provincial government did not respond to CBC’s questions on Thursday.
Denare Beach Mayor Carl Lentowicz said cleaning up remains a priority, but will be a challenge.
“A lot of stuff, nobody’s ever handled before in that capacity. So there’s gonna be a learning curve,” Lentowicz said.
Rebuilding will come after the cleanup, but residents said they’re stuck waiting on guidance from the provincial government.
“We cannot allow this to happen again,” Hysert said.
Speakers at the news conference thanked the local firefighters, volunteers and ground crew who worked their hardest to protect the community, but said seeing the village reduced to rubble has been devastating.
“I had some say that their husband was brought to their knees. Men who are, you know, the strongest of the strong … brought to their knees in tears,” Hysert said.
Hysert said she is happy to be home, despite the lack of communication from the province, and wants the pride of her community to be restored and recognized by the rest of Saskatchewan.
