Sask. ombudsman investigating provincial wildfire response, handling of evacuees

WATCH: Some wildfire evacuees say they feel abandoned, which has prompted a call to action from Saskatchewan’s ombudsman. Wayne Mantyka explains.

Saskatchewan ombudsman Sharon Pratchler says provincial efforts to help those fleeing wildfires in the north are falling desperately short.

“Our office will be conducting a systemic investigation in terms of the response to the forest fires and the evacuation and services provided,” Pratchler announced Tuesday.

The scope of the investigation has not yet been determined.

Pratchler says her office has received complaints from residents – with some saying they’ve been forced to sleep in their vehicles, while others have reported limited access to food and medical care.

“I don’t have a place to sleep tonight. I don’t have food. My baby doesn’t have diapers,” she said, recalling complaints from several evacuees.

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“People are confused, frustrated and overwhelmed by a lack of information on how to access services. The information has been inconsistent or hard to get,” she added.

Pratchler highlighted delays in responses from government agencies tasked with providing supports. She noted one instance, which saw her staff work for two days to get an evacuee access to food and housing.

“As an employee of the Government of Saskatchewan, it took us two days to get them into the house,” she explained. “When their world has totally collapsed around them, they need an immediate response.”

The ombudsman outlined a series of solutions that the province must undertake to properly support wildfire evacuees.

They included fixing inconsistencies with support payments, critical incident debriefings when a community is heavily damaged or destroyed (such as in Denare Beach) and one list of all evacuation sites detailing which communities have been sent where – so that family members can locate each other.

“The solutions involve immediate responses and resources and at least some information of the long-term solutions, even if they are not perfectly known at this time,” she said.

Pratchler revealed that her office has also been providing a phone line for evacuees – attempting to fill in gaps in services.

“It’s an unprecedented situation for us to be asked by SPSA to run the 24/7 home service for firefighters and firefighter groups … It’s unprecedented for us to have evacuees reaching out, saying they’re not getting food and they’re not having a place to stay,” she said.

“They’re feeling abandoned, they’re feeling, sometimes hopeless. They’re feeling angry and frustrated, and they want answers.”

As of Monday, 10,262 people are being supported by the Canadian Red Cross – while 860 are being supported by the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA).

Ombudsman Saskatchewan is responsible for receiving complaints centered around provincial or municipal services – including ministries, agencies, boards, authorities, Crown corporations and other publicly funded entities.