The chief of Mathias Colomb Cree Nation is asking the provincial and federal governments for $8 million to buy a generator so power can be restored in its community.

Chief Gordie Bear said 12 people have died since being displaced from their homes for more than 100 days due to wildfires and blamed it on the prolonged evacuation.

“We gotta get home … our children are suffering, we’re suffering,” Bear said during a news conference Friday morning.

The evacuation of the community, also known as Pukatawagan, was ordered May 28 when an out-of-control fire encroached on the remote northern community. The fire is no longer a threat, but residents cannot return because the community has no power.

Mathias Colomb’s fire chief Glen Dumas said several factors led to the deaths, including a lack of

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