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As wildfires continue to cut paths through Saskatchewan’s north, some communities are facing a whole new collection of problems other than the raging fires.
Highway 918 stretches from Beauval to Patuanak. It’s 92 kilometres long and the only land access to Patuanak.
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But thanks to multiple fires just south of the community, such as the Arm, Smith, Docker, and Harry fires, the community’s only way in and out has been cut off.
Randy McIntyre, band councillor for English River First Nation which has its head office in Patuanak, said that the isolation has caused a list of issues.
“Our current road, 918, has been shut down by the Department of Highways, so we’re having a hard time getting trucks up here for supplies and fuel,” he said.
“Also, we’re having issues with garbage pickup. It’s not major, but we’re getting overwhelmed with garbage,” said McIntyre.
McIntyre said that the community is working to ration supplies and cut back where they can.
“We’ve been only selling fuel to essential vehicles because there’s no fuel coming in,” he said.
“We’re assisting the residents here with vouchers for food at our northern store here, because the northern store brought in a load of food yesterday,” he said.
“So right now, they’re handing out vouchers, and they’re restocking the shelves at the store as we speak, so at two o’clock, the membership will be getting $200 vouchers so they can shop for whatever essentials they need,” said McIntyre on Monday.
It’s not just supplies that have been cut off, it’s also people.
“Our chief is stranded out in Saskatoon because the roads are closed. And we got two councillors that are also stranded out of town,” he said.
“… our HR person and our housing coordinator, they’re all stuck out of town, so we’ve been communicating by telephone to get things working here,” said McIntyre.
McIntyre said that delivery trucks are still making their way up to the community but visits are becoming less frequent.
“The drivers, they don’t want to risk coming down here, because if they close the road again, they’re going to be stuck here,” he said.
He said if all supplies were cut off, the community could last a while, but not long without support.
“I’m not too sure, maybe a week, or maybe a week and a half, maybe,” he said.
“Personally, I’m running out of groceries now at my house, so I kind of want to go shopping, but we’re limited to how much we can buy, so yeah, it’s kind of rough,” said McIntyre.
In a media briefing on Monday, Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) President Marlo Pritchard said essential traffic is still being escorted in and out on Highway 918.
“The community itself is not in danger — at least immediate danger — with the fire, but their access in and out … has been compromised,” Pritchard said.
“We will work with the community and assess it on a daily, if not hourly, basis to determine if there is a requirement to evacuate.”
Pritchard said crews are trying to open the access point as quickly as possible.
But, even with limited access, there’s no plans to issue an evacuation order.
“Evacuations are a leadership decision, so it will be dependent on the leadership. Should that happen, we will be there to support them,” Pritchard said.
— with files by Marija Robinson, 980 CJME
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