Sarah Mills: Help is needed for wildfire evacuees in Saskatchewan
The wildfire situation in Saskatchewan may be turning a corner, but the damage will be felt for some time. On this Day o...
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe says the province will provide 500-dollars for families that have been forced out of their home by wildfires. Moe says the dollars will support evacuees who’ve incurred costs while being away.
“Our focus is to ensure that individuals, businesses and communities, but most importantly, families an children have the support that they require to recover from what has been a tremendously fast-moving and challenging time,” he said to reporters in Saskatoon as the air quality index hovered at 10+ on Wednesday morning.
On Tuesday, The Saskatchewan NDP and wildfire evacuees called for the province to step up with financial aid for the thousands of evacuees forced to leave their homes.
RIGHT NOW: Sask. Premier Scott Moe announced an additional $500 in financial assistance for individuals affected by the northern wildfires @CKOMNews @CJMENews pic.twitter.com/SQEpvXMb8j
— Mia Holowaychuk (@miaholoway) June 11, 2025
Also on Tuesday, the provincial ombudsman, Sharon Pratchler, announced her intention to conduct an investigation into the province’s wildfire response after seeing the first-hand frustration of many evacuees not having their basic human needs met, with some sleeping in cars, going hungry or running out of funds due to delays in payment.
Moe says there are a lot of moving pieces in getting supports set up, but adds that the province is working to get things done quickly.
Read more:
- Air quality warnings linger, more rain coming for wildfire areas
- Firefighter hospitalized in Saskatoon after lung collapses while serving
- Evacuee couple with newborn faces added stress as SPSA deals with ‘backlog’
As of Tuesday, the Canadian Red Cross was supporting 9,160 evacuees and the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) was helping another 860.
According to Marlo Pritchard, President and Fire Commissioner of the SPSA, callers have overwhelmed the system and additional staff have been brought on to address the influx.
On Thursday, Rawlco Radio will be part of a province-wide fundraising effort to raise funds for wildfire relief in Saskatchewan.
The Saskatchewan Day of Caring for Wildfire Relief will include all six of Rawlco’s Saskatchewan stations and the funds raised will go directly to the Canadian Red Cross Saskatchewan 2025 Wildfires Appeal.
More to come.
— With files from Canadian Press
