The area in and around the town of La Ronge, Sask., is a major evacuation zone.The Canadian Press
As wildfires devour buildings and force thousands from their homes in Saskatchewan, the Opposition NDP is calling on Premier Scott Moe to ask for help from the military.
NDP Leader Carla Beck, in a letter to Moe Thursday, questioned what the premier was waiting for.
“Every available resource in our country must be deployed to fight these fires. We cannot afford to leave help on the table,” Beck wrote.
“I still remember the wildfires of 2015 and then-premier Brad Wall’s decision to bring in the military and call for a co-ordinated national response.”
Moe has not ruled out asking for federal aid but has said Saskatchewan does not need Ottawa’s assistance. Saskatchewan is currently receiving firefighter assistance from other provinces and the United States as it battles 25 active fires.
Provincial fire officials say the abilities of federal firefighters are limited and usually only brought in to battle blazes that are contained.
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The province estimates 400 structures have burned.
More than 30,000 people in Saskatchewan and Manitoba have been forced to flee their homes ahead of scores of wildfires in recent days.
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew has already asked for, and is receiving, help from Canada’s military.
Smoke from the fires has drifted as far east as Newfoundland and Labrador and as far south as Florida in recent days, prompting health warnings in some regions. On Thursday, Environment Canada issued air quality statements for parts of northern Ontario as well as a large swath of southern Ontario, spanning Windsor to Ottawa and the Greater Toronto Area.
The major evacuation zones are in and around La Ronge, Saskatchewan, where 7,000 have been forced out, and in the city of Flin Flon, Man., where all 5,000 city residents along with another thousand in the surrounding vicinity have had to leave.
The fires have also displaced about 6,700 in the Pimicikamak Cree Nation in northcentral Manitoba.
The province also launched a website for evacuees, titled MB Ready, with information on fires, shelters and services.
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Pimicikamak Chief David Monias said additional help is coming to his community after he joined other First Nations leaders in calling for adequate equipment and resources.
Monias said in a post on social media Thursday morning that he spoke with Kinew and fire officials about his concerns that the remote First Nation lacks suitable fire suppression resources.
Monias said a crew of 30 to 35 structural firefighters, along with six pumpers, tankers and command teams, are being deployed to the community.
“This is no ordinary response,” Monias wrote in his post.
Manitoba has 27 active wildfires, a third of which are out of control. Provincial officials said weather and firefighters from Manitoba and elsewhere are keeping the fires from overrunning communities for now.
“The weather over the last couple of days has improved our ability to get some pretty good progress done on these fires,” said Kristin Hayward with the Manitoba Wildfire Service.
“We have had cooler temperatures, a little bit higher humidity (and) winds generally have been low to moderate. We are expecting that general trend to continue.”
Hayward said there may also be rain over the weekend but not enough to extinguish the flames.
Aid is also coming for those displaced.
The federal and provincial governments announced Wednesday that they will match every dollar donated to the Canadian Red Cross for wildfire disaster relief and recovery efforts across Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
Both provinces declared states of emergency last week to allow various levels of government to co-ordinate resources and support.
An aerial view of the wildfire burning east of the town of Manning.Alberta Wildfire/Reuters
Meanwhile in northern Alberta on Thursday, the approximately 1,300 residents of the town of Swan Hills were allowed to return to their homes about a week after fleeing from a wildfire.
But about 340 kilometres west in the County of Grande Prairie, people were ordered out.
An Alberta Emergency Alert said a wildfire in British Columbia was nearing the Alberta boundary, where the city of Grand Prairie and other communities are located.
“Evacuate immediately,” the alert said. “Bring important documents, medication, medical devices, and prepare to be away for seven days.”