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Harley Vliegenthart was in Denare Beach on June 2 when the Wolf Fire ripped through town.
“We pulled out (at) around 1:30, thick smoke, 200-foot wall of flame, next to no reinforcements,” he said.
Vliegenthart travelled to the legislative building on Wednesday to stand with the Sask. NDP to call for a public inquiry into the provincial government’s response to the wildfires and the aftermath.
He didn’t mince words when describing the province’s response.
“Someone was asleep at the wheel, and it never got through to who it needed to get through to that this was a fire they’d never seen before. Lives were on the line, resources weren’t getting sent up and it was a failure through and through – a maelstrom of confusion, chaos, incompetence,” Vliegenthart said.
What he saw when trying to fight those fires was help from nearby towns and RMs, but he said water bombers were only in the air for half an hour, and he barely saw the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) throughout the whole thing.
Responding to NDP questions about the situation during Question Period on Wednesday, Public Safety Minister Tim McLeod said there were local fire departments, resources from other provinces and other countries all helping Saskatchewan during the season. He called the Wolf Fire extreme and unprecedented.
“The SPSA, within a day, responded with two air tankers, helicopters and ground crews,” McLeod said.
Afterwards, Vliegenthart accused McLeod of inventing a version of what happened.
“He’s going to keep sticking to the fictional version of events that only exists up here in his mind, he’s going to tell the people who were there that they’re liars, that they’re crooks,” he said.
Vliegenthart said if the government sticks with what he called its fictional version of events, there will be more towns that end up like Denare Beach in the future.
Jordan McPhail, Sask. NDP’s northern affairs critic and MLA for Cumberland. (CJME file photo)
Jordan McPhail is the NDP’s northern affairs critic and MLA for Cumberland, which includes Denare Beach. He was upset with the minister’s response to his questions as well.
“Trying to argue the facts with me, who had to drive through thick smoke, fire, fearing for my life and tried to tell me and my constituents, the 15,000 people in my constituency that were displaced, on what they went through?” asked McPhail.
“I’ll say that I’m, frankly, pissed off that this is the response of a minister who refuses to take accountability and face the facts of what happened this summer.”
In a statement from the government, it said the Wolf Fire grew quickly and was unpredictable due to the high winds and rapid spread. It said, to protect the safety and well-being of firefighters, the fire required an indirect attack and air assets were unsafe to operate in such extreme conditions.
The statement also accused the NDP of politicizing the tragedy and making false claims.
Vliegenthart joined the NDP’s call for a public inquiry, in addition to the investigation the ombudsman said she’ll be undertaking, and the third-party review being done by MNP about the wildfire response.
“I feel like it’s the public’s business — it’s the public that’s out there homeless, struggling, dealing with their mental health, dealing with homelessness, dealing with financial struggles. It should be a public inquiry with everything laid out,” he explained.
The provincial government’s statement said the review by MNP will be open, transparent and the results will be made public.
“This will review the SPSA’s response, evacuation, and recovery efforts, and will include opportunities for people directly impacted by the wildfires to share their experiences and perspectives,” it said.
Government has previously said the review will cost about $400,000 to conduct.
