While other evacuees of the 2025 wildfire season go home, residents of Denare Beach and area will not be so lucky. (Facebook/PBCN)

By Susan McNeil

2025 wildfire season

Recovery planning underway for Denare Beach members; 75 per cent of homes lost

Jun 13, 2025 | 5:00 PM

Evacuation orders remain in effect for Creighton and Denare Beach near the Manitoba border, but even when it’s safe to return, many evacuees won’t have a home to return to.

Wildfires raging in the area devastated the Northern Village of Denare Beach and the First Nations community near Amisk Lake. Band councillor Clayton Sewap said the band office, health centre and other critical infrastructure remain standing, but 24 homes were burned and only 11 were saved. That’s not including the hundreds of homes destroyed within the village.

Sewap recently toured the area along with Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation (PBCN) Chief Peter Beatty, members of the Prince Albert Grand Council and MP Buckley Belanger.

“I’ve seen pictures and videos on my phone but when I got there, I just didn’t believe what I was seeing,” said Sewap.

He said no residents will be returning for a while.

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“I’ve informed them we’re going to be here for a long time. We’re currently making plans for temporary housing and long-term housing for our members until we can rebuild our community,” he said.

A Recovery Committee, made up of PBCN leadership and senior management, has been established to lead the work. The committee is currently sourcing resources and developing a plan to support both immediate and long-term needs.

The first priority is to bring evacuated members together in one central location. Many families are scattered across Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Alberta – two families are in B.C. staying with family. Sewap said the first priority is to bring evacuated members together in one central location to improve access to services, strengthen family connections and support a more effective recovery process.

The Ridge on Amisk Resort, a 10 room lodge, was destroyed on the fires. (Facebook)

The lodge before it burned in this year’s wildfires. (Facebook)

“Our short-term plan is getting our members to Prince Albert and Saskatoon,” said Sewap.

Belanger made verbal commitments to helping re-build the community, but Sewap expects the province will also play a role.

At a Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) briefing on Friday, Premier Scott Moe said that much has been lost and there is still a lot of work left in fighting the wildfires that will likely burn for months.

“We’ve seen far too many homes that have been lost and people do not have a home to go to. And so those families, we will need to work with closely to support in that period of time and we’ll need to work with closely as we support the rebuilding of those homes and ultimately the rebuilding of those communities,” said Moe.

Minister of Government Relations Eric Schmalz (MLA – Sask. Rivers) has seen some of the destruction firsthand and was quick to thank firefighters for their work.

“Yesterday we had a very powerful experience witnessing the devastation in Creighton, Denare Beach, Pelican Narrows, Weyakwin and the tri-communities of La Ronge, Air Ronge and Lac La Ronge,” said Schmalz.

“Albeit while there were some losses, they could have been far worse had those people not been there and stepped forward. We were inspired by the optimism and the devotion of the community leaders we met with.”

Moe said that so far, this is the province’s second worst fire season on record.

Moe, Schmalz and SPSA president, Marlo Pritchard re-iterated that everything will be done to help evacuees get the financial help promised and cheques should be issued within days.

“We have some work to do and continue to do to ensure that we’re able to administer the $500 additional evacuation support to families that did have to evacuate their communities,” said Moe.

Schmalz said its been a challenge for local leadership to disperse the funds effectively, so the SPSA has been given the task of helping out.

“The SPSA will be working directly with the community leadership to support the disbursement of these funds to their residents in whatever way the community chooses, in order to reduce the burden on them and their administration,” he said.

In the meantime, PBCN has launched a new emergency registration system and encourages all members to register, including those who have returned home.

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susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com

On BlueSky: @susanmcneil.bsky.social