NDP criticizes Sask. Party for wildfire response delay as 2,800 remain evacuated

More than 2,800 people remain out of their homes in northern Saskatchewan, and the NDP is blaming the provincial government for taking too long to call for federal help.

At a press conference earlier this week, NDP MLA Jordan McPhail accused the Sask. Party of delaying its request for support while wildfires tore through communities like East Trout Lake and Denare Beach.

“It’s been 57 days since Denare Beach was evacuated,” McPhail said. “Fifty-seven days since East Trout burned to the ground.”

The province issued a public request for 300 federal firefighters on July 23. The federal government approved the request the same day. McPhail said the request should have come nearly two months earlier.

“There’s no reason in my mind and in my belief that this shouldn’t have said May 23,” he said. “We heard from the very outset of wildfire season that we needed more resources on the front lines.”

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McPhail said he participated in emergency operations calls with communities including Hall Lake, La Ronge, Pelican Narrows, Creighton and Denare Beach.

“All of which said that they needed additional resources,” he said. “They could have had federal support, but the province refused over and over again to call it in.”

He said the result was overworked volunteer crews sleeping outside fire halls and working 20-hour shifts in dangerous conditions.

“They had to sleep on the side of the road or the front lawn of the fire hall out of pure exhaustion,” McPhail said during the press conference. “These federal resources could have made sure that they had the break they deserved, back in June.”

McPhail welcomed the federal help now arriving in the province, but said it came far too late for communities already devastated by fire. He also said some evacuees are considering legal action.

“We’ve heard from people across northern Saskatchewan that have been looking into lawsuits against the provincial government,” he said.

The province has previously said it didn’t request federal firefighters earlier in the season because they are classified as Type 3, meaning they lack the qualifications for direct attack on large wildfires. At the time, officials said Saskatchewan needed Type 1 and Type 2 crews, which are more specialized.

Premier Scott Moe and Public Safety Minister Tim McLeod have not yet responded directly to McPhail’s criticism, but the province has continued to provide wildfire updates through the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency.

McPhail said he hopes the arrival of additional crews will finally bring relief to those still on the front lines and allow more evacuees to return home safely.