A call to action

Peter Lozinski
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A call to action

Saskatchewan First Nations Suicide Prevention Strategy implores cooperation to reverse the trend of rising rates of youth deaths by suicide

A document ratified by the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) criticizes inadequate provincial and federal responses to the northern suicide crisis and sets out nine action items to tackle the issue.

The Saskatchewan First Nations Suicide Prevention Strategy (SFNSPS) was ratified Thursday. It was created after a motion was approved at a previous meeting of the FSIN assembly of chiefs.

The strategy was reviewed by a peer review committee consisting of experts from the University of Toronto, University of Quebec in Montreal, McGill University, the University of Michigan and Johns Hopkins University.

The full document, which is over 100 pages long including the appendices, starts off with a single quote from a consultation event hosted in La Ronge in March.

“We have become experts in dealing with crises. Now we have to become experts in preventing crises from happening.”

That quote frames the entire document, and the strategy, as it looks for long-term, sustainable solutions to abnormally high suicide rates among First Nations youth and in northern Saskatchewan communities with predominantly-First Nations populations.

The strategy lays out the numbers, quantifying the severity of the situation. They are similar to numbers released in a discussion paper put out last November, however, the data has been updated with more complete results from the provincial coroner.

Strategy calls for political unity to combat suicide rates

The data shows the overall suicide rate amongst First Nations peoples is 4.3 times higher than the rest of the population. The gap is even greater among young people. The rate for First Nations women and girls aged 10-19 is 29.7 times higher than girls aged 10-19 of other ethnicities. Among men, aged 10-19, it’s 6.4 times higher.

Further, data from the Office of the Youth Advocate shows that 25 per cent of all First Nations deaths by suicide are teens, as opposed to a rate of six per cent among other ethnicities.

In total, for First Nations people, 62 per cent of all deaths by suicide are by persons under the age of 30, while just eight per cent were 50 and older. For the rest of the population, people under 30 made up only 19 per cent of all deaths by suicide, while those over the age of 50 accounted for 34 per cent.

The report also found that in the three former northern health regions (two have been combined into the new Saskatchewan Health Region), the suicide rate was 32.9 per 100,000 people, which is 31 times higher than in the other ten former health regions.

This trend is concerning, in part, because until about 50 years ago, First Nations peoples had relatively low rates of death by suicide.

“There is no reason why some First Nations must suffer from high rates of suicidal behaviour now or into the future, if we can effectively address the underlying issues,” the strategy reads.

“We know we cannot prevent all suicides. There is, however, compelling evidence that many more lives could be saved than are being saved today and … that people impacted by suicide can go on to live a good life.”

FSIN Vice-Chief David Pratt stressed the importance of the strategy in his written introduction included in the document.

“It is imperative to have implementation of the SFNSPS developed and delivered by First Nations and First Nations communities to be effective.,” he wrote.

“Youth are hurting but also have answers and solutions. We will support our youth and communities in their endeavours to reclaiming culture and traditions and to build strength-based approaches from a grassroots level.”

Pratt said First Nations need to be able to choose their method of healing, whether it be land-based, through healing lodges, elders, ceremonies, social workers, addictions counsellors or mental health therapists. He also wrote that change is necessary, because “what is offered now is not working.”

The authors of the strategy say the work ahead is now up to First Nations peoples, with support from their own governments, as well as from provincial and federal leaders.

What has been tried, it said, has not worked, despite governments knowing full well the severity of the situation. Researchers found documents from 1977 and 1979 that show the federal government was aware of rising suicide rates among First Nations youth. A document from 1979 shows that the federal government was aware that First Nations people in Saskatchewan had the highest suicide rate of First Nations people in the province.

The strategy authors came to a few conclusions.

“The rate of death by suicide by First Nations people in Saskatchewan today constitutes a public health crisis,” they wrote.

“We need more data about deaths by suicide by First Nations people in the province today. The failure of the federal and provincial governments to take actions commensurate with the high burden of suicide-related loss and suffering among Saskatchewan First Nations communities since at least the 1970s — which they were very well aware of — is a powerful example of systemic racism”

They also criticized actions taken to date by both the provincial and federal governments’ efforts to date.

“The province’s current mental health action plan … is clearly not meeting the needs of First Nations peoples,” the SFNSPS reads.

“The strategy is not the result of engagement with First Nations peoples. Instead, only a small group of First Nations people were consulted as it was being developed. Furthermore, sources within the government have told us the strategy has only been minimally implemented, and no evaluation has been released of whatever implementation has taken place to date.”

Properly funding a long-term solution, the SFNSPS says, will save money in the long run. They pointed to the federal experience as an example why.

“How many suicide-related medivacs take place each year?” they asked.

“What is the cost of a community shutting down for several days for collective grieving? What was the cost of the fly in response of government to the crisis in La Ronge, spending that left nothing behind in the community. Northern Saskatchewan may be an example of a situation where money spent on suicide prevention measures may pay for itself in lower costs to the public system, savings that could be reprofiled for investment elsewhere.”

The way forward

One of the complications, the strategy authors found, is that what drives a middle-aged adult to suicide and what drives a youth to suicide is often very different. Older adults, according to work done by other researchers, tend to turn to suicide during a major depressive episode, whereas in youth, a variety of factors, including adverse childhood experiences and drug use, contribute to deaths by suicide.

According to a study cited by the strategy authors, elevated levels of traumatic stress in many Indigenous households is a legacy of colonial disruption.

“Elevated rates of early childhood adversity are not the fault of First Nations People,” The strategy authors wrote.

“They are, in a large part, a result of colonialism. But they are very real, they have devastating impacts in our communities and they have to be addressed as a matter of the highest priorities.”

At the same time, protective factors can compensate for exposure to risk factors and can prevent suicidal behaviours. That includes social supports, having good coping skills and asking and being able to receive help.

The strategy authors looked at successful initiatives, such as a semester-long high school mental health curriculum developed for the high school at Beardy’s and Okemasis Cree Nation, as well as recommendations on suicide prevention from the World Health Organization (WHO).

The WHO recommends that suicide prevention strategies need to be community- and culturally-specific. Not a one-size-fits-all approach.

“We must be clear: substantial reduction in the rate of death by First Nations peoples in Saskatchewan will not occur without multifaceted, targeted suicide prevention measures and fundamental and profound improvements in social and economic conditions,” the strategy authors wrote.

Citing a pair of studies, they said that’s especially true in the province’s north.

“Northern Saskatchewan … is one of the most dispossessed, marginalized and oppressed parts of Canada, with the worst physical and mental health outcomes and by far the highest police-reported violent crime rate and crime security index in the country.”

Solving the problems, and moving forward with the strategy and its implementation, will take everyone working together.

“If we are to turn the suicide situation around,” everyone must do more and better — families, communities, the First Nations leadership, the public governments — everyone,” The strategy says.

“It is imperative That all three political leaderships — First Nations, federal and provincial — agree to place great emphasis on suicide prevention, and that additional resources are provided to the communities to allow for a multifaceted effort both to provide better services to people at risk today, and to tackle the developmental precursors of suicidal behaviour among children and youth.”

 

 

Rabbit Creek Wildfire: Fire behaviour and access issues challenging contianment efforts

Peter Lozinski
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Rabbit Creek Wildfire: Fire behaviour and access issues challenging contianment efforts

More details emerge about origin of a fire burning through Prince Albert National Park as crews struggle to contain it in some of the park’s most remote areas

The uncontained wildfire currently burning in Prince Albert National Park was sparked while crews were constructing control lines, and not from a prescribed fire itself, officials have said.

The revelation came during a media conference call held Thursday. According to park superintendent David Britton, a control fire spotted away from crews on May 6, eventually leading to the current wildfire, now listed at 31,400 hectares. Crews had been preparing the area since May 4. At the time crews started prescribed fire operations, there were no fire bans in place in the surrounding areas.

“We were constructing control lines. These are a narrow, burned perimeter we construct around the area we want to carry out the prescribed fire in order to contain it,” he said.

“While we were constructing those control lines, we ended up having winds higher than what was forecast, and that caused the fire to spot outside of those control lines. We never ignited the full, prescribed fire. It was really during that preparatory phase that we had spotting occur.”

Britton said that prescribed fires are only ignited after a lot of advanced planning and cautious preparation work.

“The safety of people and of neighbouring lands and property is always the first priority,” he said.

Once the containment line fire blew on the wind and began spotting elsewhere, the operation was shifted to fire suppression, and the national incident management team was called in.

Area residents on social media and in public conversation have been questioning the decision to conduct prescribed fires in the spring after the melt when conditions are dry, and before rain and greening up occurs. But incident commander Jed Cochrane explained the timing is necessary to achieve the ecological target of the burn.

“We were working to restore fescue grasslands down in the south end of the park. The time to do this sort of fire where we’re working to maintain open grassland and open meadow is before that grassland greens up,” he said.

“If we wait until it greens up, it won’t burn.”

Cochrane also responded to criticisms that the weather forecasting wasn’t accurate to predict wind conditions.

“We don’t just go off of Environment Canada or the Weather Network,” he said.

“We have more sophisticated weather models we have access to. They do provide a greater level of confidence, but at the same time, it is weather, and it is unpredictable. There is always that variable.”

That’s why, Cochrane said, there are contingency plans, and the national incident management team, which is now overseeing the situation and treating it as a full wildfire suppression operation.

That suppression operation is moving along on the fire’s south bank.

“We prioritize the areas we can action,” Cochrane said.

“We’re currently working on the south portion of the fire, as well as the southwestern and southeastern portions. Those are the parts of the fire closest to the park boundary and closest to values at risk beyond boundaries of the park.”

A firefighter puts out a hot spot in Prince Albert National Park while fighting the Rabbit Fire in May 2018. Photo courtesy Parks Canada.

Progress on that side has been good. Crews are suppressing the fire and slowly moving north.

In total, there are 187 personnel, with firefighters from four provinces and a territory working on the fire, along with 13 helicopters, five pieces of heavy equipment and two air tankers on loan from Quebec.

The fire has mostly spread on its north side, in the heart of the national park. There is no infrastructure there, only wild, open space. While there is an opportunity to throw more resources at the fire, without roads or other means of accessing that part of the fire, there is only so much crews can safely do to keep it contained.

“It’s a balance between the number of resources we can utilize and the safe places we can put them,” Cochrane said.

“This fire is aggressive. At times it’s very fast moving. The fire is quite extensive. It’s also remote, one of the challenges we’re facing. It’s hard to get heavy equipment into the middle of Prince Albert National Park. There are no roads. The behaviour and access make it challenging to get to some places on this fire in order to obtain full containment. It will continue to grow in places where we are unable to access it and work on containment.”

For now, suppression remains the focus. But once the incident wraps up, whenever that may be, it will be fully reviewed by Parks Canada.

“As a part of any fire operation that happens in Parks Canada, there is a thorough review of the situation afterwards,” Cochrane said.

“We’ll certainly be undertaking that here. That analysis informs future decision-making.”

Evacuation plans in place should fire continue to grow

While many resources are currently being directed to suppressing the national park wildfire, the incident management team is also working with the province on contingency plans for evacuation, should the fire get too close to communities inside, or outside, the park.

Structure protection plans are being established, areas of thick brush near Waskesiu are being thinned and sprinklers are being installed throughout the town site to prepare for the potential risk of the fire encroaching on Waskesiu itself. Flammable material is also being removed, all in an effort to fireproof the community as much as possible.

As of now, there’s no risk to the town itself. The fire is still burning 20 km southwest of Waskesiu. But officials want to be ready should the fire continue to grow and take up even more of the national park.

“We’re working very closely with respect to evacuation planning,” Cochrane said.

“We have planned out strategies as to what evacuations might look like should this fire move in particular directions to communities. It’s part of preparedness should this fire continue to spread in a direction and we’re not able to stop it.”

Those plans include places where, should the fire reach a boundary determined by officials, first an evacuation alert, and then an evacuation order, will be put into place. An alert would notify people that there is risk of the fire moving towards them, and there may be the need for an evacuation. An evacuation order gives people one hour to get out of a specific area.

A wildfirefighter works in Prince Albert National Park. Photo courtesy Parks Canada.

Where the fire would need to encroach for those alerts and orders to be issued has been determined, both for Waskesiu proper and for some neighbouring communities, such as Anglin Lake to the east and Nesslin Lake to the West.

Those plans also mean much of the park outside of Waskesiu will remain closed. While smoke risks remain in place, officials also want to control the areas that may need to be potentially evacuated should the fire get too close.

“We want to ensure that in the event we do get more spread on this fire, we have a relatively small area to manage people in, so we can focus on fire management and everyone’s safety,” Britton said.

That means Highway 263, the scenic route into the park, remains closed. So does the Narrows and the Kingsmere area. Waskesiu and nearby trails are open, and both Crean Lake and the Hanging Heart Lakes are open for daytime boating use only.

No risk to bison

While the original intent of the controlled fire was, in part, to create more habitat for the park’s herd of bison, some have expressed concerns that the herd and its young are being impacted by the fire.

Park officials have said, on more than one occasion, that the fire is posing no risk to the bison herd.

While sometimes the herd moves down into the southwest part of the park where the fire is currently burning, this year, the bison have remained north of Amyot Lake.

Even though the fire has reached the southeast boundary of the lake, according to the park, the bison are still safe.

“The fire is not really a concern with the bison and their conservation status,” Britton said.

“Fire is part of the natural landscape here. They’re quite used to it. They would just be moving on their own accord to avoid the fire.”

This isn’t the first time fire has been prescribed in this area either, Britton said.

For about a decade, as the park has worked to restore grassland in the area, fire has often been a tool used by park management. The area of this year’s prescribed fire has been burned a number of times in years past.

 

 

 

Missing Nipawin man often travels to P.A.

Peter Lozinski
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Missing Nipawin man often travels to P.A.

A man missing from the Nipawin area is known to travel to Prince Albert and Saskatoon.

Dana Irvin Head, 37, was reported missing Wednesday. He was last seen leaving Nipawin Tuesday at about 10 a.m. He is known to travel to prince Albert and Saskatoon, however it is unusual for him to not return to Nipawin.

Head recently told family memebrs he wanted to head east, possibly into Manitoba.

Head is described as:

  • six-foot-two
  • 185 lbs
  • slim build
  • short black hair
  • moustache
  • brown eyes

Head was last seen wearing a green shirt, grey jeans and blue shoes.

Anyone with information as to Head’s whereabouts is asked to contact their local police service, the Nipawin RCMp at 306-862-6270 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

National Park Wildfire grows as crews from Quebec, Northwest Territories join the fight

Peter Lozinski
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National Park Wildfire grows as crews from Quebec, Northwest Territories join the fight

The fire burning in Prince Albert National Park has grown again, reaching an estimated size of 29,600 hectares. Named the Rabbit Creek fire, it was listed at 17,000 hectares heading into the long weekend.

A map provided by Parks Canada seems to indicate much of the fire’s growth is on its north side. The south side bordering provincial land remains mostly contained., with some spot fires emerging to the south and west.

According to Wednesday’s wildfire update, the fire is being “directly and indirectly” attacked with helicopters dropping buckets of water, water tankers, heavy equipment and firefighters.

The park said the ongoing dry and warm weather are contributing to increased fire activity and significant smoke in the area.

Park closures began Tuesday due to extreme fire danger and smoke, but not due directly to the fire’s activity. It is still burning in a portion of the park far away from most infrastructure.

Also, as a precautionary measure, the park said that facility and infrastructure protection, as well as fuel management actions, are being put into place in and around Waskesiu.

Waskesiu itself remains open, as do the Boundary Bog, Red Deer Trail Network, Waskesiu River and Fisher Trails. The Hanging Heart Lakes and Crean Lake remain open for day-use boating but will be closed overnight.

The rest of the park, including the Kingsmere area and Highway 263 south of the Narrows Road, remains closed.

The national park is advising residents of surrounding RMs to check with their municipalities for information about evacuation orders or alerts in their areas.

In total, 13 helicopters, two water tankers, five pieces of heavy equipment and 184 firefighters from Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Quebec and the Northwest Territories, as well as Parks Canada field units, are battling the blaze. The crews from Quebec and the Northwest Territories are new to the fight. Provincial firefighters from Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario had previously been called to the national park firefight.

The wildfire started as a prescribed burn back in early May designed to restore prairie grasslands where fire suppression had led to aspen stands encroaching on the traditional fescue grasslands. The prescribed burn would have opened up more habitat for the park’s bison herd to range. Park officials said shifting, unforecasted winds led to the fire crossing containment lines and growing to the uncontained forest fire seen today.

The bison herd, so far, has not been impacted by the fire, a spokesperson told the Herald. While they normally move into the southwest corner of the park, where the fire is currently active, this year they stayed north of Amyot Lake, north of the fire’s current footprint.

A fire ban remains in place in the park.

There may be some relief coming from the weather. Environment Canada is forecasting thunderstorms tomorrow, rain overnight with a chance of showers in the forecast for Friday. So long as lightning strikes don’t spark new fires, the rain could help crews get the fire under control.

Much of national park closed due to wildfire smoke

Peter Lozinski
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Much of national park closed due to wildfire smoke

Highway 263 from back gate to the Narrows, Kingsmere area closed as wildfire continues to grow

More closures are coming and additional crews have been called in as a large wildfire continues to rage in the southwest corner of Prince Albert National Park.

The Rabbit Creek Fire had grown 24,000 hectares as of Monday afternoon, and was spewing smoke across the park. Going into the weekend, it was estimated at 17,000 hectares, a 41 per cent increase in size.

Most of the fire growth appears to be on its northern flank. Crews have managed to hold the southern and southwest flanks, where the fire runs along the park boundary, and the boundaries of the RMs of Canwood and Shellbrook.

While much of the park remained open for the long weekend, parks staff announced a bunch of closures due to smoke concerns that would begin this morning.

All backcountry areas in Prince Albert National Park, the area west of the Hanging Heart Lakes turnoff including Kingsmere /Northshore Road, Kingsmere Lake and Kingsmere River have been closed. So has Highway 263 from Narrows Road South to Cookson Road/Highway 240, including all trails and campsites between the Freight trail and the east boundary of the park.

The closures effect the Sandy lake area, as well as the Height of Land tower and the Spruce River Highlands Trail. The trails around Waskesiu Lake and the Narrows remain open, but most of the rest of the publicly accessible areas remain closed. No timeline has been given on when the closed areas of the park will reopen.

The Sandy Lake and Narrows campgrounds have been placed on a 24-hour evacuation alert.

According to Parks Canada, “ongoing dry and warm weather conditions are contributing to increased fire activity and significant smoke in the area.”

A fire ban remains in place and the west side of the national park remains closed.

Smoke is expected to impact the communities of Waskesiu Lake, Elk Ridge, Montreal Lake and Timber Bay. The situation is likely to continue for the coming days.

A smoke forecast map shows heavy smoke blanketing the area around the national park, and blowing through Prince Albert Tuesday afternoon. Combined with smoke from wildfires in Alberta, as well as in Meadow Lake Provincial Park and north of La Loche, smoke is predicted to stretch from Kindersley in the southwest all the way to Wollaston Lake in the northeast by tomorrow morning, as well as through most of Alberta. The fire is still burning several kilometres away from Waskesiu or the park’s operation centres. At this point, it’s smoke, not fire, that is leading to many of the closures.

This weekend, additional crews from Alberta and Ontario joined the firefighting effort. Parks Canada, Wildfire Saskatchewan and Little Red First Nation, as well as some Albertan crews, had been battling the blaze up until this point.

Provincially, the weekend was kind to local crews, who were finally ably to contain the Rally fire burning near Holbein. As of Monday afternoon, that fire was listed at an estimated size of 2,567 hectares.. Crews had also contained a fire burning a few kilometers northwest of the Rally fire, a 4.3 hectare fire described as having a human cause. That fire began burning Sunday.

Sunday also saw the start of a small, two-hectare fire burning about 30 km east of Prince Albert along Highway 302. That fire is also marked as contained.

Monday afternoon, two uncontained fires remained burning. One was a new fire, listed at 0.5 hectares, burning just west of Candle Lake. The other was the Tuff fire in Meadow Lake Provincial Park. That fire has been burning since May 13, and is currently listed at 6,292 hectares.

So far, there have been 175 provincial fires this year, well ahead of the five-year average of 115. Provincial fire bans for land south of the Churchill River remain in place, as do bans in several rural municipalities, First Nations and in the city north of the river.

The region has received very little rain over the past month, however there was a chance of showers and a thunderstorm Monday evening and into the overnight. By 10 p.m. Monday, a small thunderstorm had rolled through, leaving behind a slight drizzle.

Man dies in police custody

Peter Lozinski
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Man dies in police custody

Prince Albert Police are investigating after a man was found dead in their custody Friday morning.

According to a press release, an officer found 34-year-old Ryan Kereluk unconscious and not breathing at about 7:54 a.m. during routine cell checks. Attempts to revive him using CPR were unsuccessful. Parkland Ambulance transported Kereluk to hospital, where he was officially pronounced deceased.

Kereluk had been arrested during a search warrant conducted by police at a residence in the 1400 Block of Sixth Avenue West Wednesday evening.

He had warrants out for his arrest from 2017 for break and enter, obstructing a peace officer, breaching an undertaking and breaching a recognizance. He had been arrested and interviewed, but not charged, in relation to a drug investigation.

He appeared before a Justice of the Peace on Thursday at the police station and was remanded for Friday appearance in provincial court.

Members of the Prince Albert Police Criminal Investigation Division are investigating the death, along with the coroner. An autopsy was performed Friday. The cause of death has not been determined.

The Ministry of Justice has been notified, as has Kereluk’s family.

 

Gofundme set up for Prince Albert teen seriously injured in longboarding accident

Peter Lozinski
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Gofundme set up for Prince Albert teen seriously injured in longboarding accident

A Prince Albert teen has been airlifted to a Saskatoon hospital after suffering serious injuries in a longboarding accident.

Thursday night, shortly after 9 p.m., the police say they received a report of a collision between a vehicle and a pedestrian in the 1600 Block of Olive Diefenbaker Drive.

According to police, a 17-year-old boy was riding a longboard while holding on to a Jeep being driven by a friend when he fell from his board and was run over by the Jeep’s back wheel. He sustained major trauma injuries to the head and was unconscious when emergency services arrived.

Police, fire and Parkland Ambulance attended and treated the victim. He was treated at Victoria Hospital before being transported by air to Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon, where he remains in serious but stable condition.

Police are investigating the incident. No charges have been laid.

Police did not identify the teen victim, but the Herald has learned the identity of the youth is 17-year-old musician Jake Diehl.

A gofundme was set up to support his family with costs associated with the incident. As of Friday night, the campaign had raised $4,200 of its $6,200 goal. The gofundme can be found at https://www.gofundme.com/7u6gg-rally-for-jake

Premier praises wildfire-fighting volunteers

Peter Lozinski
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Premier praises wildfire-fighting volunteers

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe, along with officials from both provincial and federal wildfire management operations, is praising the personnel currently contributing to the wildfire fighting effort. So far, no homes have been lost. Only a small structure that may have been an impromptu tree house has been lost, despite three wildfires burning in the province that are not contained.

In addition to the Rally fire, burning near Holbein, uncontained fires are burning in Meadow Lake Provincial Park near Waterhen First Nation, and in the southwest corner of Prince Albert National Park.

“There is a very concerted effort everyone is involved with,” Moe said during a stop at the Prince Albert Wildfire Operations Centre Wednesday.

“Volunteer fire departments, the RMs and the provincial services we have, every morning they’re on the phone together, and as much as needed in addition to that. The effort is aligned. This is our first significant event of this particular year, and I think the effort is as effective as (it) can possibly be.”

Many of those volunteer firefighters, and even municipal leaders such as RM of Shellbrook Reeve Doug Oleksyn, are farmers. They’re doing what they can during one of their busiest times of year to help with the wildfire effort.

“Doug Oleksyn has been on and off his farm equipment over the past couple of days as he’s trying to get his crop in, and do his duty as a reeve and community member, managing the efforts,” Moe said.

Oleksyn praised the efforts of the local fire department.

“For the municipal side (they’re doing) pretty good,” he said. “It’s volunteers – guys are climbing off of machinery and jobs and taking time to fight.”

He also thanked the police for going above and beyond.

RM of Shellbrook Reeve Doug Oleksyn speaks to reporters about a wildfire burning near Holbein during a May 16 media briefing. (Peter Lozinski/Daily Herald)

“The police stayed (in Crutwell), and that was to deter people who were looking for opportunity in the community, which is really nice. We didn’t expect that.”

It’s not just volunteer firefighters who are stepping up. Other volunteers are helping out by using their vehicles to help folks evacuate, or opening their homes and the Shellbrook Senior’s hall to those in need. Others are doing their part to prevent the fires from spreading.

On the north end of the RM of Shellbrook and the northeast side of the RM of Canwood, farmers are helping the national park manage the Rabbit Wildfire, which has sparked some smaller fires outside of park boundaries.

“The stakeholders, the regional land owners in those regions and in the pasture areas were able to provide us actual support to the fire management operations,” said national park fire incident command leader Dean MacDonald.

“The first thing we do is keep the rural areas up to date as to what the actual risk is. (Farmers) were able to help us to use their cultivators to cultivate their fields to break up the fuel continuity across the grasslands there, and they worked very closely with our personnel.”

Residents also helped provide information about where possible infrastructure at risk was located.

MacDonald thanked the team of residents, volunteers and wildfire fighters for their efforts helping contain the Rabbit fire to the national park.

“We want to ensure we acknowledge the contributions, — incident management, the park field units providing support, support from Saskatchewan, Little Red First Nation and Alberta currently on site has been of immense value to us. It really has been a big team effort.”

The same is true in the southern part of the RM. Oleksyn is thankful for all the help that has been received.

“People were … taking time off, fire guards were created … and as far as I know there have been no dwellings lost from either fire, which is unreal.”

Moe isn’t surprised with the way people are stepping up.

“I think it speaks to the strong community and the strong people we have here in the province of Saskatchewan, and the initiative that has been put forward by our professional services,” he said.

“Everyone is moving in the same direction and pulling on the same rope. (It) gives us the best opportunity to ensure we have the least impact.”

Shifting winds provide wildfire relief near Crutwell

Peter Lozinski
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Shifting winds provide wildfire relief near Crutwell

Cooler weather over the past two days has helped firefighters battling a large wildfire burning south of Holbein, Sask., but tricky conditions still exist in the area.

A combination of wind and environmental factors has provided a set of challenges for crews hoping to hold the fire back from any municipalities.

As of Thursday evening, the fire was listed as not contained. It’s current size is estimated at 2,105 hectares, including a small portion burning near Kiskaciwan, a Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation community, on the south bank of the river.

“It’s in a stand of mistletoe jack pine in there and it’s burned into an old burn that has a lot of light fuels in it,” said Scott Wasylenchuk, director of wildfire operations.

“With the very hot, dry weather we’ve had over the last couple of days, it’s been a very hard fire to maintain. We’ve had multiple crews on it, air tankers, heavy equipment — we’ve gone after that fire very hard.”

The good news, Wasylenchuk said, is the cooler temperatures of Wednesday and Thursday, along with winds blowing in the opposite direction, would have given crews a chance to rebuild the east containment lines. The firebreak on the west side had three days without being tested. On the east side, where the fire breached the dozer guard, it came within 2.3 km of the Hamlet of Crutwell. The hamlet was evacuated twice earlier this week when high winds put the fire at risk of spreading.

So far, all that’s been lost is one structure, either a cabin or a kid’s treehouse, which was in the woods south of Holbein.

“It was a serious situation (Tuesday),” Wasylenchuk said. “Especially with those winds and that hot temperature. I can’t say enough about the men and women who went after that. We did everything to protect those (Crutwell) homes.”

Steve Roberts, the executive director of wildfire management, elaborated on what the presence of dwarf mistletoe and of the old burn site means for firefighters.

“Dwarf mistletoe kills pine trees, and they end up dying from the top,” he explained.

“Embers being blown by that wind will end up in the tops of those crowns of the trees. When that gets going, it runs along the top of the trees, pushed by the wind. Instead of a ground fire, you have a crown fire, and those things tend to move fast. (It’s) a lot tougher for us to control.”

As for the old fire, Roberts identified it as the Crutwell fire. According to historical documents, it burned in 2002.

“When (this fire) hits that, it’s running into immature fuel, grasses and short trees, much easier for us to control with heavy equipment, even from tanker actions because we can get more retardant right on the ground and crews right in those areas,” Roberts said.

“Once we’re in heavy timber, it’s a lot more complicated. When (the fire) spots into those areas, it will start, but it’s a lot easier for us to manage and control But it will move faster. When it gets in that material it’s like a grass fire and can move very quickly.”

That was one of the reasons for the evacuation, Roberts said. The decision was made for precautionary purposes as the fire spread to that old burn area.

Wednesday, Premier Scott Moe visited the fire line, accompanied by representatives from wildfire management. Moe is from Shellbrook, about 10 km northwest of the fire.

“I’ve been on the phone with a number of people who live in and around the area. I have a number of friends who live on the south side of the (national) park as well, in the Cookson, Deer Ridge area. We have been in contact with a number of individuals that are directly affected.”

After speaking to media at the wildfire management centre, Moe introduced Doug Oleksyn, the Reeve of the RM of Shellbrook. He’s been dealing with decisions regarding both the national park fire on the north end of his RM, as well as the Rally fire near Holbein.

“You’re dealing with two fires, so you’re trying to gather … information,” he said.

“You make the call to evacuate with the information you have.”

Moe also took the time to go over the fire maps with reporters present at the Prince Albert Fire Management Centre Wednesday. He pointed out where the fires near Holbein, Meadow Lake and in the national park had jumped the firebreak, and which areas on the map were of concern. He expressed the same desire many of the province’s emergency management personnel also have – for some relief from the weather.

“Ultimately, a little bit of rain would be very helpful.”

No significant rain in the forecast

Despite the wishes of the premier, it doesn’t appear as if any rain will fall in the Prince Albert area anytime soon. While significant rainfall was expected in southern Saskatchewan yesterday into today, both Environment Canada and the Weather Network are anticipating at least another week of warm temperatures and sunny skies.

That’s not great news for crews battling wildfires, nor is it something campers like to hear. A fire ban is in place for all provincial land, including parks, south of the Churchill River. Several RMs and the national park also have fire bans in place.

Without rain, it’s unlikely the ban will be lifted in the near future.

In the meantime, provincial officials are urging residents to be prepared, and to avoid making the situation worse.

“Many, many times over the last several years, we’ve talked about 72-hour kits. These are evacuation or go bags,” said provincial commissioner of emergency management and fire safety Duane McKay.

“(Crutwell) is exactly the reason people need them. Those bags can include medications you might have, money, and some other necessities you need to make those evacuations more pleasant.

“Spend a little time, make sure you are prepared, make sure your activities in the area aren’t increasing the risk and pay attention to information that comes out.”

Over 160 km of river searched, still no sign of Sweetgrass Kennedy

Peter Lozinski
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Over 160 km of river searched, still no sign of Sweetgrass Kennedy

PAGC experts taking over search as it shifts to a recovery operation

It’s been a week since Sweetgrass Kennedy disappeared, and despite searching 160 kilometres of the North Saskatchewan River, police investigators and professional search teams have been unable to locate any sign of the missing four-year-old.

Prince Albert Police Service (PAPS) and other agencies involved in the search gave a detailed update into the case Thursday afternoon at police headquarters.

At this point, it’s no longer about search and rescue. Instead, it has become a recovery mission.

Sweetgrass was last seen by his family at 4 p.m. last Thursday, May 10. They noticed he was missing at 4:30 p.m. Police became involved at 9.

“Officers immediately added importance to the file, given the age of the subject,” said PAPS Insp. Jason Stonechild.

As the family and officers went door-to-door, more and more people joined the search. That continued throughout the night.

“At this point, it was uncoordinated,” Stonechild said. “It was unknown what was searched, and what wasn’t.”

Friday, hundreds more joined the search. The police decided to formalize a structure for searching for the boy. Many other organizations were also getting involved, and it became apparent a command system was needed to coordinate the efforts.

The city’s emergency response plan was initiated. That put Fire Chief Jason Everitt in charge of the search effort.

By Friday afternoon, the RCMP, several city departments the PAGC First Nation Emergency Management Branch, the province’s emergency management and fire safety branch, mobile crisis and at least three search and rescue organizations were involved with the search. A command centre was set up at the East End Community Hall to ensure the ground search was structured.

Some residents contacted the Herald with concerns that by waiting until a formal search could be organized, it caused unnecessary delays. Stonechild said the delays made the ground search more effective.

“The first night, when my officers went out with up to 100 civilians, the next morning, when I wanted to know exactly what doors they knocked on … nobody had that,” he said.

“That’s the value of professional search and rescue experts. They … (coordinate) and collect data so we know for certain we eliminate areas and we can do a comprehensive search everywhere. We had more confidence that a thorough search once we incorporated a structure.”

While that process was coming together, the police investigation continued. By midday, the police had received a tip from a witness that several small children had been playing along the riverbank in the 800 block of River Street East Thursday – only a few blocks from where Sweetgrass was last seen.

Police were able to determine Sweetgrass was among that group of children.

“He fell into the water,” Stonechild said, “from which he did not recover.”

Several first-hand witness accounts later, the police found physical evidence. At that point, the decision was made to end the civilian search effort and focus professional search and rescue resources on the river.

“The observation of Sweetgrass falling in was direct from kids, but there is physical evidence from the scene, and from clothing that supports the claim,” Stonechild said. He explained that forensic child interviewers were used to speak to the children.

“Our trained members believe without a shadow of a doubt they’re telling the truth.”

Insp. Jason Stonechild speaks at a press conference about the ongoing search for missing four-year-old Sweetgrass Kennedy on May 17, 2018. (Peter Lozinski/Dialy Herald)

Support staff has been brought in through victim services for witnesses and for the Sweetgrass’ family. Stonechild confirmed that the incident is not a criminal investigation, and wouldn’t be, regardless of the ages of those involved.

He also explained why the civilian search was called off.

“There are dangers associated with ground searches around rivers as powerful as the North Saskatchewan River, and along riverbanks,” Stonechild explained. “There was too much of a risk to continue to use civilian volunteers.”

At that point, the Saskatoon Air Support Unit was called in. They used heat-sensitive, motion-sensitive technology to search an area of 60 km.

Saturday, the search continued. Sonar was used, as were professionally-trained searchers provided by the Prince Albert Grand Council. Experienced search, rescue and recovery teams from Grandmother’s Bay and Stanley Mission became involved in the river search.

The Saskatoon fire department also got involved. They sent divers, who searched underwater within 300 metres of the point Sweetgrass entered the river. Their efforts continued for two days. The first day, they searched until midnight.

“I cannot say enough as to their efforts, as anyone who has any experience with diving, they recognize there are safety concerns with a river constructed as ours due to the volume of water, how fast it’s moving and (the fact that) there are obstacles and no visibility underneath,” Stonechild said.

“That did not stop them. They knew the importance to our community, and they did not hesitate to come out and answer the call.”

Visibility, day or night, is nil in the river. The depth varies from three to 11 feet, and underwater rocks make things dangerous. So does the river’s flow. At 800 cubic metres per second, Stonechild said, it’s double the safety recommendation of any dive team. Sonar indicated some areas where there might be some evidence. The divers were kept on the line and fished back and forth, covering as big of an area as possible. They didn’t find anything.

On Monday, May 14, the dive effort was called off. Since then, a search effort has covered “every square inch” of the river all the way to Trappers Lake, a distance, including river bends, of an estimated 160 km. That’s more than double the distance experts estimated Sweetgrass could have gone.

From here on out, the PAGC expert searchers will lead the recovery efforts.

“We’re still going to continue in this area,” Stonechild said.

“We’re looking forward to re-receiving PAGC’s search and rescue individuals who are trained and experienced with underwater recovery. They have technology we don’t have, and they have years of experience we don’t have. We are going to reconvene with them and support them however we can. We are going to continue from the entry point and move down the river, likely 100 km.”

Richard Kent speaks to media in Prince Albert about the search for Sweetgrass Kennedy on May 17, 2018. (Peter Lozinski/Daily Herald)

Richard Kent, the commissioner for Saskatchewan First Nations Emergency Management, said he got the call from PAGC Grand Chief Brian Hardlotte to assist in the search.

“We brought the teams in,” he said. “They have been involved in many, many searches. They’ve been called upon by other organizations to perform searches, they have equipment not many people in Saskatchewan have to do underwater searches.”

The teams have special remote operating vehicles that locate objects with bursts of sonar. They also have side scan sonar that can be used to locate objects underwater.

“It doesn’t matter how murky the water is,” Kent said, “The sonar can identify objects … for a dive team to go and check.”

The teams also have experience with nearby river and lake systems, which may guide them in their search for Sweetgrass. One of the searchers is Randy Bear. He’s been a part of search and rescue for 40 years.

“We’ve exhausted the search down the river, but we’re not going to give up,” he said.
We’ve still got air support that we’re going to turn to, and we’re expecting the mountain waters to come.”

As those waters flow from mountain runoff as the spring melt continues, they will increase the flow of the river. That may dislodge any evidence stuck behind a rock on the riverbed.

Stonechild appreciative of support

With all the agencies and volunteers coming together, Stonechild took several opportunities to express his gratitude for all that had been done to aid in the search for the missing boy.

“It was amazing to see several hundred civilians from our community who were very emotional, and very invested in the efforts,” Stonechild said.

“I very much appreciate our community response in that effort.”

He also thanked a handful of local businesses that stepped up to support the volunteers by providing food and water for the volunteers.

“Prince Albert is a community that shows up when it’s needed,” he said. It’s very noted and appreciated by our service and all the individuals who had a combined effort.”

Stonechild also spoke about the support from professional agencies, who not only helped coordinate the search, but also helped calm less-experienced searchers.

He thanked members of Prince Albert North, Saskatoon, Big River, Buckland, Highway 55 and North Corman Park Search and Rescues, who led ground searches last Friday.

“Their people took people in panic, went out and searched everywhere and said ‘no, no, settle down, take a deep breath, this is what you have to check, this is what you’re prepared for,’” he said.

“They have expertise and had a calming effect and an appropriate affect.”

Then, there was the group of PAGC searchers, who pointed PAPS in the right direction.

“It didn’t take us long to realize we had to sit down and relax because these guys knew what they were doing,” Stonechild said.

“That was appreciated. I really appreciate (those) individuals.”

Hardlotte also passed along his thanks.

“Grand Chief Brian Hardlotte couldn’t be here today, but he wanted me to express his thanks and appreciation to the PAPS and all other agencies involved, and there were many,” Kent said.

“Everybody stepped up to the plate. It was a combined effort in the search, and we’re thankful. It’s also important to him to share his sentiments on how we’ve all been able to come together and work with one another toward this common goal.”

Thoughts with Kennedy family

Everyone attending Thursday’s press conference had one thing in common — they wanted to help provide some closure for the family and friends of Sweetgrass Kennedy.

“On behalf of all Saskatchewan First Nations communities, I want to acknowledge the difficult times the family of Sweetgrass Kennedy, friends and family are going through, and our thoughts and prayers are with them all,” Kent said.

“(Search teams) have told us they would like to continue on to try to bring some closure to the family. That’s our hope as well.”

 

 

 

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