Saskatchewan premier makes surprise visit to village devastated by summer wildfire

Premier of Saskatchewan Scott Moe, speaks during a media event to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with Premier of Ontario Doug Ford in Saskatoon on Sunday, June 1, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Liam Richards

Premier Scott Moe made a surprise visit Friday to Denare Beach, a Saskatchewan village devastated by wildfire, and still angry over the provincial government’s response.

Karen Thomson, a councillor for the village of Denare Beach, says they were surprised by Moe’s visit, as they were only expecting cabinet ministers to attend the scheduled update meeting.

She says she talked with Moe about ways the province can support mental health needs for residents, along with financial assistance to help with the rebuild.

The councillor says the absence of Moe during the fire this summer was strongly felt by residents who have condemned the province for how it responded.

“That’s kind of the elephant in the room,” Thomson said in an interview. “Here we are today, about four months post-fire and Scott Moe is here. We’re appreciative of him taking that step and coming to see us (but) I’m not going to mince words: we would have liked to have seen it sooner.”

Moe’s office did not advertise he was heading to the community, located near the Manitoba boundary close to Flin Flon.

His office said later Friday the meeting was a chance for the premier and his ministers to understand the needs of displaced residents.

“Cabinet ministers have been in the community throughout this summer as we continue to support the residents of Denare Beach through this incredibly challenging time,” it said.

A raging wildfire tore through Denare Beach, a community of 700, in June, burning down about half the community.

Residents have questioned why it appeared crews took so long to fight the fire near the community and have argued there was a lack of equipment.

Almost half of the province’s water bomber fleet was grounded during the worst of wildfire season where 10,000 were forced to flee.

The province has said it deployed crews to Denare Beach as quickly as it could to battle the blaze, which was described as a “firestorm.”

Thomson says Moe also told the village to get involved in the FireSmart program, an initiative that encourages municipalities to better prepare for future wildfires. Some FireSmart activities include creating fuel breaks to prevent fires from getting too close to communities.

“Those discussions (Moe) will have with the federal government to see that things can be put in place and funding be made available so those types of programs can happen,” Thomson said.

“Nothing was solidified, there were no signatures to put to paper, but the discussions are there and will be ongoing.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 26, 2025.