Fire in Webequie First Nation displaces family of six

Tim Brody - Editor

A family of six (including a baby) in Webequie First Nation lost their home to a fire on July 1.
The family had been living in one of the community’s newly built homes. 
Webequie First Nation shared in a July 2 media release, “Fortunately—the fire did not claim any lives. It did cause smoke damage to another adjacent home. The community experienced issues with electrical power and providing clean drinking water as a result.”
The Community shared in the July 2 media release that, “The water situation has not been resolved to-date but is expected to be in the near future.”
Webequie First Nation Chief Cornelius Wabasse informed that that the community continues to struggle to provide adequate community infrastructure as the study for the proposed Ring of Fire supply road proceeds. 
He said the following in a statement: “Webequie First Nation stands with the community in their support for the family of six (6) who lost their home and belongings due to this fire. It is truly unfortunate that when a house fire occurs, it takes us a minimum of 1-3 years to replace it, and while so doing, our housing list backlog increases and so too does overcrowding in homes. It is a vicious circle that we need help escaping.” 
Webequie First Nation further shared that they have, “raised the issue of the community’s inability to provide adequate infrastructure after fires in the past including, more recently, the loss of a new four-plex unit due to fire on August 24, 2022 and another home on April 7, 2023. The community received a wildfire rapid attack bush truck in March of 2024 but in the case of its ability to extinguish the July 1, 2024 fire—it was unable to extinguish it.”