Officials in Saskatchewan say all of the wildfires burning in the province’s north have been human caused with some of them being intentionally set.
“We know that virtually all-if not all of the forest fires in Saskatchewan-were human caused,” said Minister of Public Safety Tim McLeod at a media briefing on Monday. “And unfortunately, some of those were intentionally caused by humans and so we thank our policing partners for continuing to investigate those situations.
On Friday, the RCMP issued a news release in response to questions from the media about the arson arrests which were alluded to during the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) briefing earlier in the day.
According to Waskesiu RCMP, officers received a report of a suspicious fire in a rural area off of Highway 696 on May 30.
“Investigation determined the fire was deliberately set. As a result of continued investigation, a woman, 18, from Montreal Lake Cree Nation is charged with one count, arson, Section 434, Criminal Code,” according to the RCMP.
On June 3, at approximately 1:45 a.m., Nipawin RCMP received a report of a male setting fires in the ditch beside Hwy 55.
“Passersby had extinguished a small fire that had started in the area. An adult male was arrested at the scene. As a result of continued investigation, a 36-year-old male from Pelican Narrows is charged with one count, arson, Section 434, Criminal Code,” said the release.
Both suspects were to appear in provincial court.
The RCMP said it has many officers “actively engaged with response to wildfires,” and that checking into the circumstances of each report of arson would take time.
During the briefing Monday, McLeod said where appropriate, where RCMP identify an intentional cause, individuals would continue to be charged.
Saskatchewan has capacity issues
Officials also addressed whether Saskatchewan would be taking in evacuees from other provinces.
Ontario called for urgent help Sunday to help fight a fire in the region of Sandy Lake First Nation. The federal government sent the military to help with emergency airlift evacuations.
However, it is unlikely Saskatchewan will have the capacity to take in further evacuees.
“There probably isn’t a corner of Saskatchewan that hasn’t been checked for available rooms,” said Steve Roberts with the SPSA.
“We have evacuees as far south as Weyburn, all the way to Unity to Swift Current. All the major centres-Prince Albert, Regina, Saskatoon have received evacuees. Pretty much if there’s a spot that will accept an evacuee, we’ve tried to direct them there.”
Roberts noted some family and community groups have had to be broken up into smaller units to be able to supply supports to them.
“Until we resolve the current issue with our availability for evacuees-that’s when we would be able to determine on a national level whether we could provide assistance for out of province partners,” Roberts said.
Some evacuees have been given the green light to return to their communities. According to a social media post by the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation, healthy evacuees with their own transportation were being allowed back to Pelican Narrows, 500 km northeast of Saskatoon.
The elderly and those with health conditions as well and new and expectant mothers were being advised to delay their return.
“There are a lot of factors, it’s not a one size fits all,” said Roberts. “It’s one of the reasons why when people return to their communities that they’re well aware of what resources are there.
“It’s something to consider-something to clarify and ask your community leads on-‘I want to go back, is this set up, can I get this, can I do this, should I be bringing back groceries?’ So ask those questions of your service providers and community leaders before you come back.” Roberts advised.
The SPSA and Saskatchewan government also announced June 7 financial assistance for those registered with the agency has been increased to $40 per day for the head of the household-up from $20, and additional members of the household would receive $20 per day up from $10.
Thirty-three communities have been evacuated with 24 active wildfires burning.
With files from The Canadian Press
The post Almost all the wildfires in Saskatchewan ‘human caused’, some intentionally: Fire officials appeared first on APTN News.