Officials said Tuesday afternoon that upwards of 15,000 people have been displaced from their homes in 20 communities. It’s believed homes and other structures have burned in several communities.
For days, the Saskatchewan NDP has received complaints from evacuees about the lack of available hotel rooms and other accommodations in the cities they’ve been directed to flee too, namely Prince Albert and Saskatoon.
“I am hearing widespread reports of people being turned away from hotels in Prince Albert and Saskatoon,” said April ChiefCalf, Saskatchewan NDP Shadow Minister for Housing, “More must be done. These people don’t know when they will be able to return home and, in some cases, whether they will have a home to return to at all.
“They need to know there will be a roof over their heads every night during this crisis and that they won’t be moved around unnecessarily, something that will only add further stress during such a terrifying time.”
“It is confusing, and it is scary.” Said La Ronge Evacuee Viviana Ruiz Arcand, “People need a place to sleep, food to eat and money for gas now. We need to help people now.
“People hear the messages from the Premier about this crisis, and it only leads to more questions,” McPhail said. “He asked people to open their homes to evacuees and many have, but that’s not an option for everyone. People need a place to go, they need support to cover expenses while they’re displaced, and they need constant updates from the Sask. Party on every effort being taken to spare their communities.”
The Saskatchewan NDP is collecting donations for wildfire evacuees at ChiefCalf’s office Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at 304-1114 22nd Street West in Saskatoon and at the office of MLA Bhajan Brar at 6300 Dewdney Avenue in Regina.