Valerie G. Barnes Connell Jordan
Daily Herald
Where does one start on a rollercoaster like this one?
Some Northerners are still worried about going home, in case it’s too soon!
In a time of real trauma, the possibility, which for some became more than a possibility, of losing their homes, and more, it’s a scary time.
Everything was very very iffy.
Many people left without any sense of where they might end up at nightfall that day, or in the coming days.
A few days before I left I followed my niece on Facebook, I couldn’t sleep until I saw she arrived at a destination in the middle of the night.
At that point I hadn’t thought of myself evacuating.
One cannot help but compare Manitoba’s experience, with a Premier right there encouraging people to just leave their home, keep travelling away from the fire engulfed area.
As I watched I saw, a caring man, strongly leading his people in an effort to keep them safe. It’s a leader who cared.
And that continued throughout the days and weeks ahead.
It was a drastic contrast to what we, northerners from Saskatchewan, faced.
I have yet to see the man, who is supposed to be Premier of this province, the leader of all the people, including the north. One would not guess that to be the case.
While Wab Kinew has visited the areas of wildfire and been with the people, Scott Moe has not.
Manitoba got more resources by far than Saskatchewan. Kinew declared a State of Emergency, and the resources came. Moe waited.
While we heard from our MP, Buckley Belanger that resources were there waiting to come to northern Saskatchewan, they never did, because our Premier didn’t ask.
That’s how it works, when it works. We have a federal system.
The federal government has some responsibilities; the provincial government has other responsibilities; and municipalities have some responsibilities. It’s meant for the three levels to work together, but when they don’t it creates a blockage.
That’s exactly what happened with the wildfire evacuation in 2025, the provincial government didn’t do its part, so the people lost.
I’m not sure how to identify it here; it doesn’t reflect any form of leadership, particularly responsible leadership, that I can see.
Now, I hear a new state-of-the-art aircraft was on the ground in La Ronge, with no planning for its use, no training even scheduled. So, it just sat, and people’s homes burned.
In Denare Beach reportedly 300 of the 412 homes in their community were damaged or destroyed.
How does a Saskatchewan government take receipt of a piece of equipment, designed to improve the province’s chance of protecting people and property, in wildfire season, and not ensure it’s ready for use, in a good way?
And there’s so much more!
No, support for many of those evacuating, which involved no accommodation, no money for gas or food.
When I came into Prince Albert on the first day I evacuated, I registered with the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) and Red Cross.
People were noticeably uncomfortable, when they had to say they did not have resources to share.
The Lac La Ronge Indian Band (LLRIB) and Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation (PBCN), with the support of the Prince Albert Grand Council (PAGC) and Federation of Saskatchewan Indigenous Nations (FSIN), declared a State of Emergency, and received some services.
Now, some of us have come home, still no support. Although a little is coming; a little late, maybe?
Being home, it’s chilling to see how close the wildfire burned into the community.
When I first drove into town yesterday, I thought things didn’t look so bad. Then, I began looking closer and have seen evidence of the fires coming much closer; too close for any kind of comfort.
There are so many people to thank, to offer appreciation to, firefighters, bus drivers, community members who stayed behind to feed people, to watch out for people’s pets left behind due to necessity, and so many more.
Someone on Facebook suggested we turn Canada Day into Firefighter Day. But, there are many others who stayed or came back to support in any way they could.
Another avenue that needs exploring! How do we change wildfire fighting in the north so that people are not continually evacuated from their homes and don’t end up losing their homes, cabins, businesses and more?
Food for thought there; it needs to be taken seriously, because what’s happened in the last few weeks in northern Saskatchewan is intolerable.
Valerie G. Barnes Connell Jordan is a journalist who lives and works in La Ronge.
