Denare Beach Wolf Wildfire Response 

In June 2025, the community of Denare Beach in Northeastern Saskatchewan was devastated by the Wolf Wildfire, which destroyed 260 homes, or 60% of the residences, including 24 belonging to Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation. With a long-standing relationship with AECOM, Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation and the Village of Denare Beach sought our help.

Coming together in a time of crisis 

The full scope of services was unknown at the outset, but we listened, shared, and provided leadership to a heavily impacted community. We worked closely with community leaders, other consultants, a contractor and government bodies to expedite planning and approvals to start the road to recovery. 

Developed in one week, the Disaster Debris Management Plan (DDMP) became the foundation for restoring the community. The DDMP served as the framework for assessing 260 hazard sites, conducting asbestos testing, organizing the cleanup, disposing of 25,000 cubic meters of debris and 30,000 cubic meters of recyclables, and communicating with the community, insurance companies, and government.  

To streamline the process and minimize further disruption, we prepared a cleanup construction contract that ensured a single community cleanup would be carried out by a single contractor. This contract was prepared in days and approved in hours. Cleanup started one month after the fire.  

The cleanup consisted of separating the materials for recycling, including concrete, trees and metal. Before the remaining ash debris could be disposed of, we needed to design a new landfill cell to accommodate twenty years’ worth of debris in two months. We designed the cell at an accelerated pace. It was quickly approved by the Ministry of Environment and added to the existing construction contract for immediate implementation.  

We provided services ranging from civil and environmental engineering, field engineering, and construction services, including inspection and administration, hazard assessments, debris tracking and documentation, soil, water, and asbestos testing, laboratory testing, and water/sewer camera inspections. The final deliverables were 260 individual property reports documenting the conditions, testing, and results for each lot for the municipality, 14 insurance companies, Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation, and residents.  

Foundation construction began on lots that had been cleaned up and had passed the necessary testing in late August 2025, with the first new home completed in early October 2025. 

A long-term relationship on unshakeable foundations 

Unbeknownst to our team until the award was presented, the people of Denare Beach and Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation nominated the entire team for the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Saskatchewan’s 2026 Exceptional Engineering and Geoscience Award. It was an honour to be recognized alongside our partners by the communities and our peers.