Wildfire impacted residents wonder why Premier Scott Moe hasn’t visited yet

It’s been about a month and a half since the Wolf Fire tore through the Denare Beach area in northeastern Saskatchewan.

Resident Linda Lowe, who lost her home in the fire and is now living in a camper, wonders why Premier Scott Moe hasn’t personally taken the time to come to the community to not only see the devastation for himself, but also to offer personal reassurances to locals.

“He’s the leader of the province, he should have been the first one here,” she said by telephone from Denare Beach.

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Lowe, isn’t alone in her criticism of the Premier. Provincial NDP Leader Carla Beck has also posted videos to social media of residents from Denare Beach, including a couple named “Dustin and Joanne,” who say they’ve postponed their wedding after losing their home, boats and other possessions.

Lowe cited Manitoba’s premier as an example of what she thought Moe should have done.

“Wab Kinew was in Manitoba, which is 17 kilometres from my house, within hours of their evacuation here,” she said.

Lowe believes the community could have been saved if there were more resources allocated to the fast-moving flames, and she’s been hoping to see Moe there over the last few weeks.

During a news conference in Saskatoon Thursday, Moe was asked whether he’d visited Denare Beach or East Trout Lake, a couple of the hardest hit areas.

He said he had not, yet, but was still open to doing so “at some point.”

“I’ve been up into the Beauval area, I’ve been up into the La Ronge area, as well as the Montreal Lake area,” he told reporters, as well as indicating he’d visited some “evacuation centres,” without giving specifics.

Moe also cited the upcoming “Council of the Federation” meetings in Ontario, scheduled to take place between July 21-23, as a reason why he wasn’t available to visit at this time.

Premier Scott Moe admits he has not yet visited areas like Denare Beach and East Trout Lake, where recent wildfires have devastated communities. (Lara Fominoff/650 CKOM)

That’s little comfort to Lowe, however, who said there are still many people in the area waiting for their Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency $500 aid cheques.

“We needed you (Moe) before the fire, we needed you during the fire, and we needed you after the fire, and you still have not showed (sic) up. So don’t bother coming now,” she added.

Moe said his government has been working hard to help those who’ve been impacted by the wildfires across the province.

“There have been a number of steps where there’s been funding provided,” adding that people’s concerns have been heard.