As thousands of wildfire evacuees from parts of northern Saskatchewan start to return home, others are still scattered across multiple provinces, struggling to access aid and waiting for answers.
Marlo Pritchard, president and fire commissioner of the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA), said during an update Friday that 10,300 evacuees have been cleared to return to their communities.
Pritchard said Narrow Hills Provincial Park is now allowing evacuees to go home. A voluntary evacuation advisory for Candle Lake, Sask., was also lifted Friday morning.
“We’re going to continue to work with those affected communities through this repatriation process. And we also recognize that those returning will will face some very unique challenges, some mixed emotions,” Pritchard said.
The resort village of Candle Lake made the call based on recent fire-behaviour assessments, SPSA data, and weather forecasts.
“Weather conditions confirm a marked reduced likelihood of wildfire encroaching upon the Resort Village making the Shoe Fire no longer an immediate threat,” the public notice on Candle Lake’s website said.
People in the area are still advised to stay alert, and have an accommodation plan and an emergency kit ready.
Candle Lake municipal operations like waste collection and administrative offices are scheduled to resume on a normal schedule starting Monday.
Other communities welcoming people home include Brabant Lake, La Ronge, Ramsey Bay, Sucker River, Nemeiben Lake and Hall Lake.
Creighton, Denare Beach, East Trout Lake and Whelan Bay are still under evacuation orders, while Cumberland House still has one in effect for P1 and P2 people — those with chronic conditions, the elderly or those who need specialized care.
Pritchard said the backlog for the SPSA wildfires helpline number has been cleared.
“Those that call the 1-855 line now will be either dealt with immediately or within 24 hours,” he said.
The province also lifted a ban on ATVs and UTVs as of 5 p.m. CST Friday. However, a provincial fire ban remains in effect, with the public prohibited from open fires and fireworks.
“We will ask individuals that do have ATVs to please stay away from our active fire lines,” Pritchard said.
He said the fire ban will be reviewed again on Monday.
Shyla Evans, who fled Creighton, Sask., with her husband late last month, is one of the evacuees returning home. Since then, the couple has moved three times, trying to find a place to stay.
“We all got evacuated from Flin Flon to The Pas because that was the only safe way out,” Evans said in an interview on CBC Saskatchewan’s The 306. “Once we got to The Pas, we had family there, but we wanted to be closer to an airport because my husband has to fly out for work.”
After moving to Tisdale for two nights, they were forced to relocate again to Melfort.
“This is really the first place that’s been a home for just the four of us, so we’re very thankful to be here,” Evans said.
That stability has come at a cost. Evans said they’ve received no financial support from the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) or the Red Cross, despite reaching out multiple times.
“We are lucky enough to have gotten support from our house insurance. That is all,” she said. “We are paying out of our own pocket from the money we saved for retirement. We were hoping to retire in a few years, but I think it might take a little longer now.”
Wildfire evacuees are still having trouble finding crucial information
Evans said many others from Creighton are in much worse shape.
“No one that I know from Creighton has received any funding at all from either the SPSA or the Red Cross,” she said. “People are very frustrated and afraid, and we feel alone and ignored.”
She said a friend plans to contact the provincial ombudsman after spending hours on hold with no help.
“There are some people with no money at all except what they came with,” Evans said. “A lot of people that I know wound up sleeping in their vehicles with their pets, because they would go to the next community and it was already full.”
Sheri Parr, also evacuated from Creighton, shares the same frustration. She said she has been a supporter of Premier Scott Moe, but is disappointed with how he has responded.
“I think Manitoba handled it hands down better than Saskatchewan,” Parr said. “[Manitoba Premier] Wab Kinew has been out to tour these places and boots on the ground.”
She described a confusing and inconsistent process, where residents were bounced between agencies and told different things about how and where to get help.
“We were told we couldn’t collect any kind of support in Manitoba — that we had to go to Saskatchewan,” she said. “But then you can’t collect money unless you’re there in person. It’s been crazy.”
Parr says evacuees are falling through the cracks.
“It’s almost like their workers don’t even know exactly what’s going on,” she said. “There’s a lot of vulnerable people out there right now that I don’t know what they’re doing to make ends meet.”
Evans echoed those concerns, noting that even community donations aren’t reaching Creighton evacuees.
“There’s a different charity at our hotel every night feeding us supper, but what they don’t understand is that the funds they’re donating aren’t reaching our community at all,” she said.
Both women called for better preparedness and long-term planning.
“We need to look at having a national fire service,” Parr said. “There needs to be an emergency protocol in place in every one of these communities.”
While grateful to be safe, Evans said she and others are bracing for a longer displacement than expected.
The province is providing financial support of up to $200 per day for evacuees through the SPSA, along with $500 in financial assistance. But many say that isn’t reaching them and doesn’t cover the cost of prolonged displacement.
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