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A Denare Beach resident isn’t happy with the Saskatchewan government after a wildfire destroyed her home, along with many other homes and buildings in the community.
Keri Lentowicz said she and her family lost their home on June 2 after the wildfire spiraled out of control, eventually destroying more than 400 structures in the area.
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“It is completely devastating, and it was completely avoidable,” Lentowicz said on Thursday.
“The fire burned for two weeks. I’ve trained firefighters before. I’ve fought bush fires. The fire should have never reached our community.”
Lentowicz was joined by NDP MLA Jordan McPhail, who said he’s demanding answers from the Sask. Party government about the lack of water bombers that were fit to fly while numerous wildfires burned in the province.
NDP MLA Jordan McPhail and Denare Beach resident Keri Lentowicz said they feel more could’ve been done when it came to protecting the community from the wildfires that ravaged the town. (Shane Clausing/650 CKOM)
Marlo Pritchard, the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency’s president, said on Wednesday that a number of water bombers were grounded because they required maintenance.
“From time to time, any of our aircraft will have mechanical issues that may ground them for a short period of time, from hours to days, and unfortunately sometimes longer,” Pritchard said.
“This is a normal part of operating any air fleet.”
Pritchard said he anticipates that one of the planes, a CV580, would be available again by the end of June, but couldn’t provide timelines for the other three that are not currently in service.
Lentowicz said she isn’t buying that excuse.
“On May 29, the state of emergency was declared by (Premier Scott) Moe, yet no help for our community came. The government had four whole days to stop the fire when it was when it was significantly away from our community,” she said. “I say significantly because it wasn’t within that 20 kilometere boundary. It was near one of the mines, but not near us.”
She said the government should have spared no expense to get the aircraft back into service.
“By the time we saw any plane, it was already too late,” she said.
“And for what? The savings of maybe $50 million, $100 million?”
She suggested that if the grounded water bombers were flying as the fires raged across northern Saskatchewan, the homes in Denare Beach could have been saved.
“I do think those four water bombers would have made a heck of a lot of difference. We had this fire for two weeks. Had those water bombers been on the fire long before that fire turned around, they probably could have saved our community, but they chose not to,” she said.
“It was a decision they made not to do that, and the value of my community, my home, is worth more than they could have ever put into it – worth more than any water bomber – but they chose not to.”
Lentowicz said she’s been left wondering why there wasn’t more planning done to avoid a disaster like this after the devastating wildfires seen in Saskatchewan and western Canada in previous years.
“There’s been so many lessons learned from Slave Lake fire, from the (Fort McMurray) fire,” Lentowicz said. “Why didn’t the government put those into place? Who is managing emergency management in the province? Who’s overseeing that and making sure that they’re being implemented and moving forward?”
Lentowicz added that she doesn’t feel like the additional $500 in relief money offered to wildfire evacuees by the provincial government is enough, especially for people in Denare Beach.
“There’s many people who lost jobs who have small children and can’t afford to make ends meet. But hey, we get $500,” she said.
“That doesn’t even cover the cost of three nights (in a) hotel. That doesn’t cover the cost of food for almost three weeks now. How the heck are these people supposed to survive? We need help before we move back.”
When asked when the $500 could get to residents in Denare Beach, the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency said it will be delivering more than $160,000 directly to residents of Denare Beach in the coming days.
Nineteen fires currently burning in Saskatchewan
According to the latest update on wildfires, issued by the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) on Thursday, there are 19 active fires in the province.
“Of those active fires, four are categorized as contained, four are not contained, eight are ongoing assessment and three are listed as protecting values,” the agency said in a statement.
“This year, Saskatchewan has had 265 wildfires, which is well above the five-year average of 158 to date.”
Creighton, Denare Beach, East Trout Lake and Whelan Bay remain under evacuation orders, along with “priority individuals in Cumberland House,” affecting about 2,000 people.
“The SPSA has established a Recovery Task Force that includes representatives from the Ministries of Health, Social Services, Government Relations and others as needed to assist communities that were devastated by the recent wildfires,” the agency added.
“The Recovery Task Force will be focused on the tasks needed to help communities rebuild. More information will be provided regarding the work being undertaken by the Recovery Task Force in the near future.”
The agency said more than $3.8 million has been transferred to the communities that are distributing the $500 payments.
