Senior official in Sask. wildfire response retires, residents call for more accountability

Saskatchewan residents who lost their homes in last year’s unprecedented wildfire season are calling for more accountability, after a top official in charge of the province’s fire response announced his departure.

CTV News confirmed Steve Roberts, vice-president of operations with the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA), is retiring earlier than planned and will leave his post on June 30, following a recent review into the 2025 wildfire season.

In a statement, the SPSA said the agency and Roberts mutually agreed on the decision.

“It just seems too coincidental,” said Dustin Trumbley, who lost his home and belongings in the Denare Beach wildfire last June.

Earlier this month, Trumbley called for Roberts and SPSA president Marlo Pritchard to resign when an independent review found the agency “was not fully prepared” for the scale and complexity of the 2025 wildfire season.

“The report is out. It shows the failings and there’s still no accountability,” Trumbley said.

“I’m glad he (Roberts) is gone. I think he needed to go.”

Trumbley would like to see the leader of the SPSA step down as well. He’s also calling for Tim McLeod, the former minister responsible for the SPSA during the 2025 wildfire season, to face consequences.

Last December, McLeod was relieved of the SPSA portfolio in a cabinet shuffle.

“That’s what my fight has always been about. It’s not about money. It’s about accountability,” Trumbley told CTV News.

As president of the SPSA, Pritchard has said he takes full responsibility for the shortcomings in the wildfire response and has committed to doing better.

The SPSA said it will begin searching for Roberts’ replacement immediately. The new vice-president of operations will be responsible for helping implement the review’s 11 recommendations to improve the province’s wildfire response.

More than 500 fires burned roughly 2.9 million hectares and forced more than 10,000 people from their homes last year – the worst wildfire season in Saskatchewan’s history.

The independent review found key parts of the SPSA wildfire response were not effectively executed. Insufficient pre-season planning, including delayed recruitment and training, hindered the agency’s ability to respond, the report said.

More than 200 houses were destroyed in Denare Beach alone, including Jennifer Hysert’s home.

She believes the devastation could have been prevented, but said early calls for help were left unanswered.

“At the end of the day, none of this matters if we don’t get a public inquiry,” Hysert told CTV News. “We need some accountability and retribution for abandonment.”

“We want the rest of the world to know it’s not okay to be so poor at your job in a position like this,” she said.

Hysert believes a public inquiry would provide more answers and help prevent future devastation.

“You have to make sure this is something that doesn’t happen again,” she said.