Several communities north and west of La Ronge, Sask., have been issued evacuation orders due to wildfires.
Sucker River, Wadin Bay, English Bay, Nemeiben Subdivision, Hall Lake, Clam Crossing and Sikachu were all issued the orders on Monday.
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Chief Tammy Cook-Searson of the Lac La Ronge Indian Band said arrangements are being made for buses, and gas for vehicles, and that leaders will work with the Red Cross on accommodations.
The designated meeting place for these evacuees is the Jonas Roberts Memorial Community Centre in La Ronge, which is about 340 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon.
The La Ronge tri-community and Stanley Mission are now also on standby notice.
The Pisew fire was 16 kilometres from La Ronge on Monday morning and the road to Stanley Mission could be compromised.
Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency vice-president of operations Steve Roberts said if La Ronge needs to be evacuated, residents may have to head west to get out.
“If Highway 2 is compromised and they cannot be guided through, they will actually be moved down until they hit [Highway] 165. They will travel west and then down through Île-à-la-Crosse on that highway,” Roberts said.
Where more evacuees would end up going to stay is still up in the air.
Roberts said the SPSA and other organizations are trying to identify which cities and towns have hotel space that could accept evacuees — anywhere from Prince Albert to Weyburn to North Battleford to Hudson Bay.
“Basically, we’re canvassing every community in Saskatchewan for their capacity and as evacuees come out, they will be directed to areas where they can be housed until they can return home,” Roberts said.
He said they have even been looking to Alberta to see if some evacuees could go there.
About 8,000 people have been evacuated so far.
As of Monday afternoon, there were 19 active wildfires in the province, with six considered contained. Air quality warnings are still in effect for much of the north.
Twenty-six communities have been evacuated so far in Saskatchewan.
Roberts said 163 “values,” including houses and cabins, have been lost to the wildfires — double what was reported on Sunday.
The Shoe Fire, currently the largest in the province, has prompted the closure of parts of Highway 165 and evacuation alerts for several communities, including East Trout Lake, Whelan Bay, Narrow Hills and Little Bear Lake.
Hot, dry and windy conditions have made fighting the wildfires in northern Saskatchewan very difficult. Environment Canada’s Christy Climenhaga joined Saskatoon Morning to talk about how hot and dry the spring has been for the province.
On Sunday, Montreal Lake Cree Nation declared a pre-evacuation notice for people in Molanosa, a small, isolated community about 150 kilometres north of Prince Albert.
Coun. Carol Naytowhow told CBC on Sunday that the First Nation has been taking in evacuees from Weyakwin, Molanosa and Timber Bay. Naytowhow said they are currently staying in available housing normally used for temporary staff.
There are also two shelters set up with space for 14 and they’re preparing to house about 100 people in a gym.
Naytowhow said they are also preparing for the possibility of having to evacuate all 1,500 people on the reserve.
She said a community hall in Shellbrook will take in 400 on cots if needed.
The full list of communities in the province now under evacuation orders is:
- Lower Fishing Lake.
- Piprell Lake.
- East Trout Lake.
- Little Bear Lake.
- Narrow Hills Provincial Park.
- Whiteswan/Whelan Bay.
- Brabant Lake.
- Hall Lake.
- Nemeiben Lake.
- Sucker River.
- Wadin Bay.
- English Bay.
- Foran Mine – McIlveena Bay.
- Jan Lake.
- Pelican Narrows.
- Creighton.
- Denare Beach.
- Weyakwin.
- Resort Subdivision of Ramsey Bay
- Sturgeon Landing.
- Northern Hamlet of Timber Bay.
- Molanosa.
- Resort Village of Candle Lake (voluntary).
SaskTel outages
SaskTel Internet, wireless and landline services are currently not available in Deschambault Lake and Pelican Narrows.
Those services will also become unavailable in Jan Lake this afternoon.
Services won’t be restored until crews can safely fix the outages or when crews can bring generators and fuel to the impacted sites.
SaskTel services have been restored in Brabant Lake, Sucker Lake, Southend, Key Lake, Cigar Lake, Collins Bay, Wollaston Lake, Black Lake, Stony Rapids, Sandy Bay and Fond du Lac.
Up-to-date info on active fires, smoke and related topics is available at these sources:
