Dundurn military base fire leaves area residents feeling frustrated

Beaver Creek area residents who live along the Canadian Forces Detachment (CFD) Dundurn say the military has some explaining to do.

On Saturday, a grass fire sparked in the training area on base and quickly ripped out of control.

READ MORE: Dundurn military base fire contained, air quality advisory for Saskatoon ends

“We were just sort’ve floored that they didn’t get Saskatoon fire trucks out to assist them until almost one in the morning,” said Cam Ewart, who lives in the hamlet of East Beaver Creek.

“They said they had it completely in hand and it wasn’t in hand – it was raging out of control.”

Military officials maintain it was a contained fire but homeowners don’t see it that way.

“It was a non-controlled burn caused by military activity,” Morris Callaway said.

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CFD Dundurn has its own fire department staffed and equipped, including a tanker and four trucks.

It was deployed on Saturday and nearby agencies were brought in for back-up including the Saskatoon Fire Department that provided two brush trucks and two water tankers to assist with protecting homes.

“I had jewelry packed up, passports, medication and I would have grabbed the dog and I guess that would have been it,” Debbie Callaway said.

This also isn’t the first time the base sparked a blaze. In 2001, a brush fire forced the evacuation of Whitecap Dakota First Nation.

A substantial fire guard surrounds the entire perimeter of the National Defence land and officials said crews in this case were confident it wouldn’t spread passed strips of sand.

“I don’t believe that for a second with the winds that were going,” Ewart added.

“There’s a lot of wooded area in the military range, the embers would have come flying across the road and if it got into the grass with that wind it would have ripped through the neighborhood.”

People said what’s most frustrating is as the fire raged on they were left in the dark, wondering whether or not they should evacuate.

“At the end of the day these are our homes,” Ewart said.

According to the Canadian Forces, the local municipality is responsible for contacting residents after officials on base provide them with updates.

“Come around and let us know, there’s enough of them over there,” Debbie Callaway said.

“Somebody from the military should have been going around from door-to-door and letting people know exactly what was going on.”

How many square kilometres was ravaged by the fire remains unclear, the cause is still under investigation.