SASKATOON — Denare Beach resident Rhonda Werbicki said her family and other members of their community have been preparing for the upcoming wildfire season after last year’s experience.
Monday, June 2, 2025, will be forever etched in Werbicki’s mind, as it was the day they lost their house, one they had sheltered in for 26 years, and it was gone, like the other 400 structures in Denare Beach.
She recalled that five days before that, on May 28, she and her neighbours were forced to evacuate as wildfires slowly crept into their community. They decided to leave their homes for their safety.
Like many in Denare Beach, she had no time for planning and left quickly, taking little more than an overnight bag, as they assumed they would be back within days. However, nature proved them wrong.
“We, in Denare Beach, are not expecting the fire to hit us. So, most people left with what was on their backs,” said Werbicki, who joined Cumberland MLA Jordan McPhail in a media event on Friday, April 24.
“I didn't even take a look at my house when I left. I just locked it and grabbed an overnight bag as most people did, because we just thought we'd be home in a couple of days.”
A few days later, on the morning of June 2, reality set in when her husband woke her with the news that their home might not survive.
“My husband woke me up early in the morning, and he had tears in his eyes, and he said: ‘Ron, I think we're going to lose our home today.’ None of us expected that,” added Werbicki, holding back her tears.
It turned out he was right. By that evening, around 9:30 p.m., they received a phone call from their alarm security company provider that their house was on fire, confirming what they had feared.
“It's just something you're not prepared for. You know that your house is burning down at that exact moment, it's something that I can't even I can't even describe to you, it's just horrible,” she said.
Nearly a year later, Werbicki and her family were still displaced, living in the town of Gimli in Manitoba, where some of her relatives are based. She continues to work at a hospital in northern Saskatchewan.
Werbicki added that rebuilding their home is expected to begin this summer. Still, even that comes with uncertainty tied to the same threat that destroyed it, as another wildfire season approaches.
She said that many residents are also preparing on their own, installing sprinkler systems and buying portable pumps to create their own last lines of defence from the fire.
Bill 609, rooted in experience
McPhail has called on the government to pass Bill 609, or The Wildfire Strategy Act, in December 2025, with the legislation based on firsthand experience of those who worked on the front lines in the north.
He said he was one of the people who went back to northern Saskatchewan after learning their community was on fire, to do whatever he could to help.
“I made my way back into the community. From feeding dogs one day, to cooking in the kitchen the next, to driving the water trucks and filling up water bladders throughout the community,” said McPhail.
He mentioned that he spoke to residents and volunteers of Wadin Bay, worked to save their community, and that their shared experiences revealed both the resilience and the gaps in provincial coordination.
“They didn’t wait for help; they became the help. These are people who have been fighting fires for decades. They should be treated as experts, not afterthoughts,” said McPhail.
That preparation, he noted, paid off during the 2025 wildfire season. While vast stretches of forest burned, Wadden Bay stood out — a small but striking patch of green amid widespread devastation.
The difference, McPhail argues, was deliberate, community-led mitigation. Residents organized regular cleanups, removed brush, and implemented FireSmart practices often without direct provincial support.
According to McPhail, they prepared not just for wildfire, but for what he described as a lack of government readiness, and Bill 609 is designed to formalize and elevate those kinds of local efforts.
McPhail said the legislation would ensure northern municipalities, First Nations, and Métis leaders have a direct and meaningful role in wildfire planning and response.
The bill also emphasizes better coordination between local emergency operations centres and provincial agencies, as well as clearer communication channels with decision-makers in government ministries.
Bill 609, he added, offers a constructive path forward and provides concrete solutions, from embedding local expertise into decision-making to improving preparedness standards ahead of each wildfire season.
“This is something the government can pass right now. It’s about listening to the people who are already doing the work and making sure they’re part of the system,” said McPhail.
“What we’re seeing is a government that hasn’t fully learned the lessons from last year. And that’s exactly what this bill is trying to fix.”
New aircraft in the fleet
In a statement, the Government of Saskatchewan said the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency has added the new Q400 to its fleet and retired the Convair 580.
“When the airtanker renewal program was announced publicly in a news release on April 23, 2024, it was noted that the Q400s would replace the aging Convair 580s when the new Q400s entered the fleet,” said the statement.
“The SPSA owns and operates one of the largest and most capable aerial firefighting fleets in Canada, consisting of 17 aircraft strategically positioned across the province to deploy quickly and effectively to wildfires. The SPSA organizes its aircraft into operational groups.”
The statement added that the SPSA annually brings these groups into service phases, with the first group, including three Twin Commanders and two CV580s, ready for service as of Monday, April 20.
“This approach ensures aircraft are available throughout the entire wildfire season, while maintaining flexibility to address fleet readiness and maintenance requirements.
The SPSA listed its fleet as including three Convair 580A land-based tankers, one Q400AT land-based air tanker, six CL-215T turbine-powered water-scooping air tankers, and seven Turbo Commander Bid-Dog aircraft that guide tanker aircraft and coordinate air traffic over and near active wildfires.
The government said that, because of the critical way these aircraft operate, they may be temporarily removed from service for repairs as part of federally regulated inspection and maintenance. If this happens, SPSA will request additional aircraft through existing mutual aid agreements and compacts.
“The Government of Saskatchewan will not compromise the health and safety of our pilots and aircraft crews and will ensure that all air assets comply with safety standards and regulations. It is disappointing that the unserious NDP continue to politicize this matter without consideration of the facts, spreading misinformation on matters of public safety,” said the statement.
“The Government of Saskatchewan deeply appreciates the heroic efforts of our first responders, pilots, and support staff to ensure Saskatchewan families and communities are safe and secure.”
