Saskatchewan premier says 2 people charged for setting wildfires

WATCH: Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe says two people have been charged for setting wildfires.

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe says two people have been charged for setting wildfires.

Moe made the announcement Friday afternoon during an online news conference that provided an update on Saskatchewan’s current wildfire situation.

According to Moe, charges were laid in relation to a fire near Weyakwin, and fires set in the Smeaton / Snowden area.

“The RCMP have informed us that they have now charged a couple of individuals,” Moe said during the news conference.

RCMP confirmed two people have been charged with arson in relation to forest fires, though neither appears connected to the massive uncontained blazes that have threatened communities across the province.

The first charge stems from an incident off of Highway 696 on May 30. Officers from the RCMP’s Waskesiu detachment were called to the scene of a rural fire, located about an hour northwest of Prince Albert, that investigators determined was deliberately set.

The RCMP says an 18-year-old Montreal Lake Cree Nation woman faces an arson charge in connection with that investigation.

A 36-year-old Pelican Narrows man also faces an arson charge in connection with fires in the ditch beside Highway 55 near Snowden, located northwest of Prince Albert.

The RCMP says the nearby Nipawin detachment was called to investigate reports that a man was setting fires in the ditch on June 3, around 1:45 a.m.

The accused, 36, was scheduled to appear in Prince Albert Provincial Court on Friday.

As of Friday afternoon, 25 wildfires were burning in Saskatchewan, seven were considered uncontained and another three have crews strictly working to protect property being threatened by flames, according to the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA).

Moe said many of the fires are human caused, whether intentional or not.

“Many, if not virtually all of the fires that we’re dealing with in Saskatchewan, although not intentionally, are human caused. Some of those have been intentionally human caused,” Moe said.

The SPSA says that roughly 400 structures have been lost to date, and approximately 15,000 people have been forced from their homes.

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Officials say it’s the most significant crisis caused by wildfires in Saskatchewan since 2015, when 17,000 people were displaced.

One issue that’s emerged as the number of displaced people grows: where exactly do you put everyone?

With many hotels brimming and the need for shelter growing, the SPSA may have to begin organizing larger-scale solutions, or “congregate emergency shelters,” Moe told reporters Friday.

But SPSA President Marlo Pritchard says the threat is subsiding around some evacuated communities, which may be cleared to return home in the days ahead, though he didn’t specify which communities.

Pritchard says the SPSA will work with community leaders to let them know when it’s safe to come back.

Provincial government officials have resisted ongoing calls from the Saskatchewan NDP and First Nations leaders to enlist military support, but Moe told reporters Friday the Canadian Forces may be of use in the coming days.

He said the province intends to call in the military’s Hercules aircraft to help with evacuations if fire has cut off highway access to a community.

Moe said he’s also speaking to federal officials about bringing in soldiers to act as backfill security in evacuated communities, should the RCMP officers or Saskatchewan Marshals currently stationed there need relief, or face other staffing demands.

“It’s a conversation that’s very fluid and happens at 9 o’clock every morning, and occurs as well throughout the day, should the needs change.”

-With Canadian Press files