Troops arrive in Sask. to help fight fires, Beauval residents could return home soon

The Canadian Armed Forces have arrived in Saskatchewan to help fight the wildfires ravaging the northern part of the province.

The province is expecting around 300 troops to arrive and help fight Type 3 fires, so they can put an end to the crisis that has put a stranglehold on some communities for the last two months.

“What we hear is they’ll be staging in Green Lake and staging in La Loche,” said Beauval mayor Rick Laliberte, whose community has been on the doorsteps of wildfires for the last month.

“They’ll be coming up to the fire lines from those regions, but they’re doing Type 3 work, which means mop up.”

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Laliberte said the fire threat to the community isn’t as high as it was, but admits they still aren’t out of the woods quite yet.

“I think the Muskeg Fire has moved its perimeter away from us. We’re pretty confident it’s going to be okay for a while,” he explained.

“There is a fire called the Dore Fire that originally started – it moved its way to La Plonge and that’s still a hot spot for us. It’s a concern. It’s to the east of us and it could threaten the La Plonge reserve, English River First Nation and the La Plonge resort community. Beauval feels a little safe because the Beaver River is between that fire and the community.”

“We’re not done with this fire season. It’s only July. We still got August and September and into October and we just got to hold tight,” he added.

Beauval residents possibly coming home

It’s been nearly a month since Beauval was evacuated because of the wildfire threat, and now people living in the community might be able to return home soon.

On July 3, over 700 people were officially evacuated. On July 13, the fire came to the very edge of the village.

Thankfully, crews were able to prevent the flames from reaching any homes or essential infrastructure inside the village.

Laliberte said today they’ll be getting an update from provincial officials on the wildfire threat to the community.

“I just want to say thank you to all the evacuees. We’re trying to bring them home here. We’re just getting reassurances today and then the village council will be making this decision at 4 p.m.,” he said.

Laliberte added that their initial goal is to get people home to Beauval by July 30.