‘Don’t leave help sitting on the table’: Sask. reaches out for federal wildfire support

WATCH: As some residents are being cleared to return home after wildfires threatened their communities, the province is looking for federal support.

After repeated calls for the province to seek military support from Ottawa to aid with wildfires — the provincial government says it’s seeking federal help and expects to hear back soon.

This news comes as the opposition and some evacuees demand better support all around.

“When lives and homes are on the line, you don’t leave help sitting on the table,” NDP MLA Jordan McPhail said at a news conference Monday morning.

He’s referring to federal help, particularly military help, and why it hasn’t been brought in for over a week now. That inquiry may have been answered, in part, by the provincial justice minister Monday afternoon.

“We have indeed identified ways that we believe the federal government can support our efforts, “Tim McLeod told CTV News.

The province isn’t asking for federal support with firefighting, but with getting evacuees back home and dealing with the aftermath of the fires.

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“We have made a request to the federal government to provide two base camps to support our crews and have also made a request for tents for sheltering up to 200 people,” he said.

The government will not confirm if this is the military aid which has been talked about by the NDP opposition and others.

Meanwhile, some evacuees joined the NDP in Saskatoon Monday to express their frustration over the system to get aid to those who need it.

Kari Lentowicz from Denare Beach lost her entire home to fire. She says she hasn’t received any financial aid yet and doesn’t know why the system is so delayed.

“I am very thankful for what I have, or and what I did have and don’t have any more,” she said.

This evacuee is trying to remain positive during a devastating time. She’s staying with a friend in Saskatoon and knows others don’t have that luxury and would like the support handled better.

“I can still feed myself, I bought some clothes the other day, even though I had a breakdown in the store. I am fortunate that I’ve got a place to lay my head at night that isn’t an evac centre,” she says.

Resident Trevor Miller is from Flin Flon, just on the other side of the border and he already got $900 in aid e-transferred from the Manitoba government.

“We can see next door what could have been done, what should have been done, but wasn’t, just wasn’t,” Miller said.

McLeod says residents needing support should call the SPSA or Red Cross.

Those residents CTV News spoke to say they have called all the numbers, and are still waiting.