Sask. Mayor honoured with fire bear medallion for firefighting contributions

As fires were taking over the Boreal forest in northern Saskatchewan, Sandra Lynn Caisse Dennett wanted to bead a medallion of a bear that had the colours of fire.

As Dennett put the finishing touches on her work, she settled on honouring one person's work with the medallion: Rick Laliberte, the mayor of Beauval, who Dennett said went above and beyond his duties to help his community. 

"To us, he is a true leader and hero," her written statement to CBC Indigenous said. 

Dennett said she witnessed first-hand the difference Laliberte's work had in the community; when the fires got out of control, "he was right in there."

Dennett lives in the community of Beauval, Saskatchewan, which is 656 kilometres north of Regina, where forest fires have raged since early July. As community members evacuated with what they could, the Mayor stayed behind to help with the fires.

Laliberte said he thought he was just going to take care of some pets at Dennett's home and he didn't know he would be honoured by her. 

"It was a complete surprise, but I gladly received it," Laliberte told CBC Indigenous. 

"All the beads that are on here, that's my entire team. Every bead is a person's effort here in our community."

Laliberte said he's been hauling hoses, reclaiming fire pumps and hauling gas to the pumps, to keep up the sprinkler systems in the community. He's also used his boat to deliver gas, and transfer pumps to other locations.

He said he and local fire crews are fighting fires late into the night, when winds die down and hot spots become more visible than they are in the day time. 

"That's the way the old folks did it, when grandparents and parents fought the fire at night," said Laliberte

He said the fires have been travelling fast due to drought and the roots of trees are so dry, they're burning right down to the sandy ground. 

He said he's thankful his community is now safe from the fires and no homes were burned down. Now he's hoping for more rain.

'Their home as well'

Laliberte said he's witnessed and heard of numerous acts of people saving animals while fighting fires, including three baby eaglets, unable to fly, which were saved by a waterbombing helicopter that dropped water on trees around theirs. 

When a baby coyote was injured on the side of the road, Laliberte said he and his wife took it home to try and help it. It survived and the next day it was picked up by conservation officers. 

"It's love, that's what it is, we love our people, but also our animals that we grew up with," said Laliberte. 

"This is our food, our natural place of being and this is our home and this is their home as well."