2 people charged with arson, accused of starting fires in Sask.
At Friday's daily media briefing, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe announced the charges and said that one of them was for starting one of the province's major wildfires.
But in a news release later in the afternoon, the RCMP detailed charges that were laid for two suspicious fires — one that Waskesiu RCMP responded to off Highway 696 on May 30 and one that Nipawin RCMP responded to in a ditch beside the Snowden turnoff on Highway 55 on June 3. Neither of those appear to be related to a major wildfire.
The fire that Moe initially referred to, the Ditch fire, near Weyakwin, was reported on May 26. It has grown to 95,000 hectares and appears to be moving very close to the massive Shoe fire — the largest blaze in the province at more than 470,000 hectares.
Those fires and others in northern Saskatchewan have forced thousands of residents from their homes. The province declared a state of emergency on May 29 due to the wildfire situation. As of Friday, there were 23 active fires and 248 total fires this year — far above the five-year average of 139.
"We understand there is public interest in seeing if any wildfires can be fully or partially attributed to criminal acts," Saskatchewan RCMP wrote in the media release. "Checking into the circumstances of each report of arson received recently will take some time."
The 18-year-old woman from Montreal Lake Cree Nation charged in the May 30 fire was scheduled to appear in court in that community on Thursday, while the 36-year-old man from Pelican Narrows charged in the June 3 fire was scheduled to appear in Prince Albert provincial court on Friday.
Shifting winds bring fresh wildfire threat to La Ronge
Strong winds pushing a wildfire toward the industrial park and Eagle Point areas, just northeast of the town of La Ronge, triggered an alert for the region on Friday morning.
The community is already subject to an evacuation order, but any people that haven't left those particular areas were told to get to a safe place.
Tammy Cook-Searson, chief of the Lac La Ronge Indian Band, said the situation is serious and unpredictable.
"The wind has shifted. It's coming in from the southwest right now and it's pushing the fire northeast," she said on Friday morning.
Cook-Searson said the Pisew Fire, which began near Hall Lake, has since grown to threaten several surrounding communities. There have been significant structure losses in both Hall Lake, west of La Ronge, and Sucker River, north of La Ronge, due to the fire.
"The fire is less than two kilometres just north of Sucker River and it's heading northeast," she said. "And then there's also the fire that has reached Clam Bridge, where the bridge has burnt and the structure has been lost there, and it's moving northwest."
Cook-Searson confirmed that both Highway 2 and Highway 102 are currently closed and impassable due to wildfire activity.
Any people still in La Ronge are being directed to the Jonas Roberts Memorial Community Centre, which is serving as the local muster point.
"Right now it's unpredictable," Cook-Searson said. "The flames were pretty big this morning just before 5 a.m. right behind the fire base on the Industrial Road in the town of La Ronge."Cook-Searson said emergency crews are working hard to hold the line.
"We are expecting rain starting at noon today," she added. "So hopefully it materializes and fingers crossed that we do get that rain — much needed rain — because the fires are burning out of control."
Residents are urged to stay away from the area and continue following evacuation guidance from local officials and emergency services.
As thousands evacuated La Ronge due to an advancing wildfire, some residents made the difficult decision to stay behind — hoping to protect their homes and keep watch over their community.
Terry Hunt is one of them. Speaking to CBC Radio's Blue Sky, Hunt said he remained in La Ronge to defend his property and voiced concerns about what he sees as an inadequate provincial response.
"We're in a pretty tough situation up here, and I'm feeling that our provincial government is not doing enough to help us out," Hunt said.
Hunt said the community was without power and alleged there had been looting.
RCMP confirmed one report of looting in a news release Friday, saying officers stopped a vehicle at a checkpoint on Highway 2 on Wednesday that had been stolen from La Ronge and found items in it that were linked to a theft in the community the day before. Two men were charged.
Police say officers are regularly patrolling evacuated communities as part of wildfire response efforts.
Still, Hunt believes more boots on the ground — including military support — are urgently needed.
"I think we need more police on the ground, which includes the armed forces coming up here," he said.
Despite the hardship and danger, some evacuees have found small ways to stay hopeful.
Some drivers fleeing La Ronge earlier in the week were forced to wait for hours on the highway due to smoke and fire.
That's where Terri Roberts and others met up with a friend — whose granddaughter was having a birthday. They brought the cake along, and sang right there on the roadside.
"She was holding her cake and we all started singing Happy Birthday to her outside of the car.… I've never experienced something like that, but it was pretty emotional," Roberts said.
"She was just full of smiles and we could see she was quite appreciative of what we did for her."
Roberts says they eventually made it south to safety.Up-to-date info on active fires, smoke and related topics is available at these sources:
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