Why hasn't Sask. called for military help? The province says it needs wildfire expertise

Hannah Spray · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 10, 2025 6:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 6 hours ago

At astir each 1 of their regular wildfire media briefings, Saskatchewan officials are asked wherefore they haven't called connected the subject for support.

Right adjacent doorway successful Manitoba, precocious past month, subject helicopters airlifted residents from distant communities.

And twelvemonth aft year, the Canadian Armed Forces respond to earthy disasters nether a programme called Operation LENTUS. In the past 2 years alone, that has included sending successful Type 3 firefighters to Alberta, B.C. and Nova Scotia, erstwhile requested.

But this year, contempt facing 1 of its earliest, astir assertive occurrence seasons, Saskatchewan has not asked the national authorities for the military's assistance to fight the fires.

WATCH | Evacuees stock concerns, vexation implicit province's effect to wildfires: 

At the latest briefing connected Monday, Saskatchewan's Public Safety Minister Tim McLeod was asked, again, wherefore not.

"I don't cognize however other to accidental it different than, we are asking for what we request and they are offering what they have," McLeod said.

Saskatchewan doesn't request airlifts oregon Type 3 firefighters, helium said. Type 3 firefighters are qualified firefighters who enactment Type 1 (trained wildfire crews) and Type 2 (First Nations and bluish assemblage crews) firefighters, and "are usually utilized connected a occurrence enactment that is nether power oregon successful the mop-up stage," according to the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) website.

McLeod said provincial and national officials pass daily, and connected Monday the state did marque a petition to the national authorities for 2 basal camps and tents for sheltering up to 200 people, to beryllium utilized for erstwhile crews are rebuilding communities.

Saskatchewan has asked for assistance from different jurisdictions with "highly qualified" wildfire crews, SPSA vice-president of operations Steve Roberts has said.

"From an operational constituent of presumption and a qualified, experienced idiosyncratic who knows however to combat fire, our champion stake for Saskatchewan is to bring them successful from our neighbouring wildfire agencies similar British Columbia, similar Oregon, similar Alaska, and that's wherefore we person not brought [the military] successful to date," helium said past week.

WATCH | Why Sask. says it's not calling successful the subject to assistance combat fires:

Those answers are not satisfying immoderate residents who watched wildfires endanger their communities during the past fewer weeks.

Sheri Parr's hubby is simply a unpaid firefighter successful Creighton, Sask. She said helium and his unit are perfectly exhausted aft sleeping connected ungraded roads and factual floors portion they support their community, with "zero authorities support" from the start.

Town councillors stayed down to instrumentality attraction of the firefighters portion section businesses made definite they had necessities, Parr said, and assemblage members reached retired to connection their pumps, hoses, generators and vehicles.

"Where was the authorities enactment during each of this? We should person called successful the subject and I don't recognize wherefore we wouldn't instrumentality the connection of much help," she said astatine a quality league held by the Opposition NDP connected Monday.

"I privation this authorities to instrumentality earnestly the assistance that these radical request to beryllium ready, if the upwind shifts oregon much fires occur."

Saskatchewan's sole Liberal MP, Buckley Belanger, said helium thinks the subject could supply a batch of other resources, if asked. He said Prime Minister Mark Carney has convened respective exigency meetings and has been acceptable to help.

"He was very, precise acrophobic and wanted to spot what we were doing arsenic a government," Belanger told CBC Radio's The 306 big Candice Lipski connected Monday.

Jordan McPhail, NDP MLA for the northeastern riding of Cumberland, said the state should inquire for assistance from the national government, similar it did successful 2015. That year, astir 850 members of the equipped forces supported firefighting efforts successful the bluish portion of the province.

"That enactment is disposable again now. The national authorities has made that precise clear. But alternatively of picking up the phone, [Premier] Scott Moe dismissed the idea," McPhail said.

"When lives and homes are connected the line, you don't permission assistance sitting connected the table. You don't permission exhausted firefighters and assistance workers oregon the evacuees … without the enactment that they need. That is conscionable simply not leadership."

WATCH | Sask. wildfire evacuee watched location pain successful existent clip connected information cameras:

Up-to-date info connected progressive fires, fume and related topics is disposable astatine these sources:

• Interactive Sask. progressive occurrence map.
• Fire information map.
• Fire bans.
• Environment and Climate Change Canada upwind alerts.
• Sask. Highway Hotline.
• Smoke forecast.
• Air quality.
• Tracking wildfires crossed Canada.