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CBC
a day ago
- General
- CBC
Sask. Mayor honoured with fire bear medallion for firefighting contributions
As fires were taking over the Boreal forest in northern Saskatchewan, Sandra Lynn Caisse Dennett wanted to bead a medallion of a bear that had the colours of fire. As Dennett put the finishing touches on her work, she settled on honouring one person's work with the medallion: Rick Laliberte, the mayor of Beauval, who Dennett said went above and beyond his duties to help his community. "To us, he is a true leader and hero," her written statement to CBC Indigenous said. Dennett said she witnessed first-hand the difference Laliberte's work had in the community; when the fires got out of control, "he was right in there." Dennett lives in the community of Beauval, Saskatchewan, which is 656 kilometres north of Regina, where forest fires have raged since early July. As community members evacuated with what they could, the Mayor stayed behind to help with the fires. Laliberte said he thought he was just going to take care of some pets at Dennett's home and he didn't know he would be honoured by her. "It was a complete surprise, but I gladly received it," Laliberte told CBC Indigenous. "All the beads that are on here, that's my entire team. Every bead is a person's effort here in our community." Laliberte said he's been hauling hoses, reclaiming fire pumps and hauling gas to the pumps, to keep up the sprinkler systems in the community. He's also used his boat to deliver gas, and transfer pumps to other locations. He said he and local fire crews are fighting fires late into the night, when winds die down and hot spots become more visible than they are in the day time. "That's the way the old folks did it, when grandparents and parents fought the fire at night," said Laliberte He said the fires have been travelling fast due to drought and the roots of trees are so dry, they're burning right down to the sandy ground. He said he's thankful his community is now safe from the fires and no homes were burned down. Now he's hoping for more rain. 'Their home as well' Laliberte said he's witnessed and heard of numerous acts of people saving animals while fighting fires, including three baby eaglets, unable to fly, which were saved by a waterbombing helicopter that dropped water on trees around theirs. When a baby coyote was injured on the side of the road, Laliberte said he and his wife took it home to try and help it. It survived and the next day it was picked up by conservation officers. "It's love, that's what it is, we love our people, but also our animals that we grew up with," said Laliberte.
CTV News
6 days ago
- Politics
- CTV News
Métis Nation–Saskatchewan urges wildfire response to protect traditional lands
The Muskeg Fire on the outskirts of Beauval, Sask. on July 10, 2025. (Courtesy: Rick Laliberte) Métis Nation–Saskatchewan (MN–S) is raising concerns about the level of resources being dedicated to protecting traditional lands from wildfires. 'It's our constitutional right to harvest off these lands, as we have for generations. We need to protect that. Those rights have value,' MN–S Minister Brennan Merasty told CTV News.'We shouldn't have to compete with the value of a structure, versus our traditional territories.' Brennan Merasty MN-S MN–S Minister Brennan Merasty discussed the wildfire response in an interview from Edmonton. Merasty said the Muskeg Fire, burning near Beauval, Sask., isn't getting the same attention as the Buhl Fire, burning partly inside the Prince Albert National Park. CTV News has contacted the provincial government for comment. MN–S has said the wildfires are not only threatening communities but also destroying traplines and areas where traditional medicines grow. The organization has declared a state of emergency and is urging the province to 'recognize the gravity of the situation.' Beauval fire (Source: Facebook / Davidson Volunteer Fire Department) The Prince Albert Grand Council issued a similar statement on Tuesday, with Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation Chief Peter Beatty saying dozens of their families lost traplines near Denare Beach and Pelican Narrows in the Wolf Fire. 'These fires wiped out traplines and cabins that families rely on for food, income and survival,' said Chief Beatty. 'With no insurance and no access to PDAP [provincial disaster assistance program], they're left with nothing but ashes. Our members were hit hard, and it's unacceptable they're excluded from support.' For his part, Merasty says he doesn't want to point fingers. He hopes to work collaboratively with the government to re-evaluate the wildfire response. 'We need to get our people out there firefighting,' he said, suggesting more training be made available. Crews from New Brunswick, Quebec, Nova Scotia, Ontario — as well as Australia and Mexico — are currently assisting Saskatchewan. There are 52 active wildfires in the province. So far this year, 378 have been recorded — well above the five-year average of 289.
CBC
19-07-2025
- Climate
- CBC
Wildfire outside of Beauval goes from bad to worse
The Muskeg fire near Beauval, Sask., has grown to more than 200,000 hectares. Meanwhile, national forecasts say fire conditions across the country are set to get even worse in August.
CBC
17-07-2025
- Climate
- CBC
Volunteer crews from across Sask. flock to Beauval to fight fires
Volunteer firefighters from across Saskatchewan have been working in Beauval and other communities in the province's north to help save them from ongoing wildfires. Volunteer crews and equipment from Humboldt, Davidson and Warman, alongside a host of other communities, have been helping with controlled burns, patrolling for spot fires and setting up sprinkler systems in the village, which is about 350 kilometres northwest of Saskatoon and is under a full evacuation order. "You immediately just thought, 'they need help,'" said Corey Dean, the chief of the fire department in the south-central Saskatchewan town of Davidson. "We have the training and we have the resources, we have extra equipment. We have a large enough department. It was a decision that we made upon ourselves." Dean was in Beauval from July 2 to July 13 fighting fires. He and his crew helped save every house in the community as the fires edged up against the town, he said. "It's literally hell on earth when the fire comes into town. There's no other way to describe it," he said. "It quickly turned from daylight to nighttime as smoke covered the sun. It got really dark, really smoky, and really hot." It was "easily the most intense and humbling experience of my life as a firefighter," said Dean. His Beauval deployment was his second this season, having spent six days in Weyakwin — about 150 kilometres southeast of Beauval — setting up a controlled burn earlier in the summer to protect the Ramsey Bay Resort. His team, all of whom have other full-time careers, are now taking a breather, he said. The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency has been spearheading the effort to recruit local firefighters, putting out a call through the Saskatchewan Association of Fire Chiefs to help co-ordinate resources. Mike Kwasnica, the president of the fire chiefs' association, said local fire crews, who have more experience with structure fires, are being called in to let provincial fire crews focus on wildland firefighting. "This season has been extraordinarily busy like we've never seen before," said Kwasnica, who is also the chief of the Humboldt Fire Department. "To do a provincial call-out like this is very rare." 'That's what we do' Kwasnica sent two of his firefighters to Beauval to complement another department that could only send a fire truck. Earlier this summer, he also did a 12-day deployment fighting fires in Weyakwin and La Ronge, to the north. Like Dean's crews, Kwasnica's firefighters also have other full-time jobs, which he said makes co-ordination difficult. "I think a lot of the municipality fire departments are starting to get tired and worn out," he said. "It's just a matter of trying to co-ordinate peoples' holidays, their time off work, because … all these firefighters that we have that are going up all have other jobs." They face long, hot and uncomfortable days, he said. "But we're hoping that it makes a difference. And I know that in the past, and I'll speak for Humboldt, that when we needed help from the province, everybody came to our assistance," said Kwasnica. "For us, that's what we do." The Saskatchewan government has also had help from crews and the use of equipment from other provinces for weeks. Last week, two airplanes and 100 wildfire personnel came from Quebec, and 40 firefighters came from Australia. The public safety agency said another 40 firefighters from Mexico will be arriving in the next few days. Steve Roberts, the agency's vice-president of operations, said Wednesday he didn't have an exact number for how many fire departments currently have resources and crew members in Beauval, but that his agency is ready to co-ordinate more support. "Should they need more or need replacement, those will be addressed through our normal process for getting more resources to those scenes," he said. When asked about the growing numbers of international crews coming into the province, Roberts disputed the argument that the province isn't putting enough resources into local crews. "We have actually trained thousands of local community members to assist us," he said. Training and awareness programs are well underway, but "the training is not the barrier," he said. "It's getting individuals to come forward, identify themselves and be hired to assist in the efforts." The safety agency said as of Wednesday night, there were 48 active wildfires in the province, 10 of which are not contained. So far this year, there have been 372 fires in the province, well above the five-year average of 273 for this date.
CBC
15-07-2025
- Climate
- CBC
Wildfires lead to evacuations in 8 northern Sask. communities
Wildfires have flared up again this month, leading to the evacuations of eight communities in northern Saskatchewan. The most recent is the northern hamlet of Patuanak, as well as around Beauval and Montreal Lake Cree Nation.
