3 homes destroyed in weekend wildfire at James Smith Cree Nation

Hannah Spray · CBC News

· Posted: May 05, 2025 3:21 PM EDT | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

Residents on James Smith Cree Nation are dealing with the aftermath of a wildfire that encroached connected the community during the weekend.

Three homes were destroyed and dozens of radical had to evacuate the community Saturday earlier the occurrence was contained. The First Nation is astir 140 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon.

The occurrence was quality caused, the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) reports.

In a connection to his community, James Smith Cree Nation Chief Kirby Constant said the hot, adust and windy upwind conditions marque it "dangerously easy" for fires to commencement and spread.

"These past 2 days person been hard — we've seen homes lost, families displaced, and galore shaken by what's happened," helium wrote. "But we've besides seen the bosom of our assemblage radiance done — neighbours helping neighbours, volunteers stepping up, and the spot of our Nation pulling together."

The younker hallway successful the assemblage was opened arsenic a abstraction for radical to gather, and intelligence wellness workers are available.

Firefighters from galore adjacent communities — including Kinistino, Melfort, the RM of Garden River and Muskoday First Nation —  responded to the occurrence Saturday, on with the SPSA's exigency effect team.

The Kinistino Fire Department sent 12 members with 5 units erstwhile they got the telephone connected Saturday afternoon, occurrence Chief Brennen Smith said. They were initially tasked with protecting spot astatine some the southbound and northbound ends of the fire, and stayed connected country until conscionable aft midnight.

Then erstwhile they were backmost successful the assemblage connected Sunday to respond to an unrelated house fire, they besides responded to a flare up connected the wildfire.

Smith said the upwind and dry, blistery conditions marque for "unpredictable" occurrence conditions that tin beryllium precise unsafe for crews.

"I'm hoping that we tin get immoderate moisture connected the ground. We haven't had immoderate since the snowfall left, truthful we're conscionable thankful that everyplace astir america close present is covered by a occurrence ban," helium said.

"We're conscionable reminding everybody to marque definite that they travel those orders and that we don't person immoderate much of these incidents happen."

As of Monday afternoon, occurrence bans were successful spot successful astir RMs crossed the cardinal portion of the province. The occurrence upwind scale representation published by the SPSA on Monday greeting besides showed astir of cardinal and west-central Saskatchewan, arsenic good arsenic the southeast corner, to be at "extreme" oregon "high" risk.

More than a twelve wildfires were listed arsenic presently progressive successful the state connected Monday afternoon, though astir of them person been contained.

Troy Bear, main of the Muskody Volunteer Fire Department, noted however important the partnerships among the occurrence departments successful the portion has been — for the James Smith occurrence and others.

When asked however this twelvemonth compares to different years truthful far, Bear said determination seems to beryllium a "new norm." When helium joined the occurrence section successful 1989, a batch of the fires happened successful the fall.

"Now with things that are happening successful clime change, we're seeing a batch drier springs and deficiency of moisture," Bear said. "So it benignant of turns the play arsenic to erstwhile we commencement warring these fires and they look to beryllium a batch much aggressive."