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Saskatchewan RCMP says a man and woman have been separately charged with arson after two different incidents in the province this week.
RCMP said in a news release on June 6 that an 18-year-old woman from Montreal Lake Cree Nation was charged on May 30 after Waskesiu RCMP received a report of a suspicious fire in a rural area off Highway 696.
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Police said the fire was deliberately set, and the woman appeared in court on June 5.
The second incident on June 3, RCMP said officers were told someone was setting fires in the ditch beside Highway 55, near the turnoff to Snowdon around 1:45 a.m.
Nipawin RCMP officers responded and found passersby had extinguished a small fire and a man was arrested at the scene.
The 36-year-old from Pelican Narrows was charged with arson and was scheduled to appear in Prince Albert Provincial Court on June 6.
Saskatchewan RCMP have also charged two people after thefts were reported in evacuated areas.
On June 4, officers received a report that a vehicle had been stolen from a home in La Ronge and it was located later that day at a checkpoint on Highway 2.
Waskesiu RCMP said officers also found a laptop and package from the vehicle and also found mail that allowed them to connect the recovered items to a theft reported in La Ronge on June 3.
Two men from La Ronge, were arrested and charged, but police did not say what the charges were.
SPSA investigates cause of fires
RCMP said in a statement on Friday that checking into the circumstances of each report of arson received recently will take some time and many officers are actively engaged with response to the wildfires.
Police said Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) investigates the cause, origin and spread of wildfires and RCMP officers are working to keep communities as safe and secure as possible as dangerous fires continue to burn in the province’s north.
The release said officers will remain in communities affected by fire until it becomes too dangerous for them to be there
“We are maintaining a strong police presence to deter any people who are thinking of committing crime and potentially making an already-stressful situation worse for their potential victims”, says S/Sgt. Shawn Carter from Saskatchewan RCMP’s North District Management Team in the release.
Officers are regularly patrolling communities that are evacuated.
RCMP using resources from across the province
Saskatchewan RCMP said the release that Tactical Support Group and Traffic Services were quickly deployed to help in fire-stricken detachment areas, and the force has also redirected around 29 officers who were scheduled to assist at the upcoming G7 meeting.
It added that the Divisional Emergency Operations Centre (DEOC) has been activated to help orchestrate the response to the wildfires. It consists of a group of police officers and employees representing different units and sections from the Saskatchewan RCMP.
With the utility and infrastructure outages currently occurring in northern Saskatchewan, DEOC has worked to ensure generators are in place and that satellite phones and Starlink internet systems are delivered to detachments so they can continue to provide service to their communities, RCMP said.
DEOC is also working to ensure there are extra police officers where they are needed and handle all the logistics of their travel. They are also making sure that the spouses and children of the officers remaining on the frontlines are supported as they are evacuated alongside other community members, RCMP said.
DEOC also works closely with other public safety partners to orchestrate the overall response to the fires. It’s part of the Provincial Emergency Operations Centre, which brings together agencies, organizations and provincial ministries so they can work together on emergency response.
Teamwork on the frontline of the fires
“Saskatchewan RCMP is one piece of the massive response to the fires,” S/Sgt. Shawn Carter from Saskatchewan RCMP’s North District Management Team said in the release.
“Every day, our frontline RCMP officers are working alongside personnel from the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency, the Provincial Protective Services Branch, the Saskatchewan Marshals Service, local firefighters, community safety officers and more. Please be reassured we are working hard and in tandem to do everything we can for your communities.”
For instance, RCMP said on June 6 officers were conducting proactive patrols in the La Ronge area and noticed a fire flare-up near the industrial area of the town around 4:15 a.m.
“They knocked on my door and let me know there was fire coming up from behind my house, because I live nearby. They let the fire crews know right away, resulting in a fast response,” said La Ronge Mayor Joe Hordyski.
As a result of the wildfires, Saskatchewan Provincial Court has had to adjust the court schedule for La Ronge and the La Ronge circuit point locations.
The La Ronge courthouse is closed and there is no in-person attendance. La Ronge court proceedings have been conducted remotely from Saskatoon Provincial Court this week and will continue next week as well.
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