Thousands more flee as Saskatchewan battles wildfires in the north

Globe and Mail

3 days ago

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe says thousands have fled a wildfire in the province's north, almost doubling the number of people already forced from their homes.
Speaking on a Rawlco Radio show, Moe said about 7,000 people have evacuated the town of La Ronge, nearby Air Ronge and the Lac La Ronge Indian Band. An evacuation order was issued for the area Monday due to an encroaching wildfire.
Some buildings, including homes, have been lost in the northern part of La Ronge, the premier said.
'(The fires) came down on La Ronge in a little bit different way, according to the mayor I chatted with last night, than they even expected,' Moe said Tuesday on The Evan Bray Show.
'With the winds gusting and the dry conditions and just the veracity of these fires, it is really an untenable time.'
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About 8,000 residents were already displaced by fires in Saskatchewan.
In neighbouring Manitoba, fires have forced more than 17,000 people from their homes, including 5,000 residents of Flin Flon near the Saskatchewan boundary.
The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency ordered the latest evacuation after fire breached the airport in La Ronge, a town of 2,500.
Moe said flames took out the agency's tanker base as well as its communications base at the airport. None of the tankers were burned, he said.
'It is where we do the communications for all of the tankers, so we're putting in place our backup plan,' he said.
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Moe said the province is working with the federal government and the RCMP to determine whether military support is needed.
He added that with no rain in the forecast, officials will 'have to keep this up for a few more days.'
Evacuees have been told to head south to Prince Albert.
The out-of-control fire was fast-moving and listed at more than 836 square kilometres in size as of Monday night.
The Saskatchewan Health Authority and the Canadian Red Cross have said more than 45 acute-care patients and long-term care residents were being moved from the La Ronge Health Centre and care homes.
La Ronge resident Terry Ross said Tuesday morning he was still in town, bringing the few people left in town to the community centre so they could evacuate. Despite the thick, smoky air and strong winds, he said the evacuation so far has been smooth.
'I know one car overheated on the highway,' he said. 'But other than that, it's been good.'
Ross said he plans to meet up later Tuesday with his children, who left La Ronge on Monday and are now in Saskatoon.
Derek Cornet, a La Ronge resident and reporter for local news outlet larongeNOW, said he saw firefighters setting up sprinklers and has seen some homes and cabins burned to the ground.
It's the second wildfire to force out La Ronge residents in 10 years.
'People had a bit more of a head start in the 2015 (wildfire),' he said.
'This one took a lot of people by surprise because the winds are just so strong right now and the fire moved so quickly that a lot of people just weren't expecting it to arrive as quickly as it did.'
Cornet said he planned to leave when it is no longer safe for him to stay.
SaskTel, the province's main telecom provider, has said an outage is affecting internet, cellphone and landline phone services in the area.
Air quality alerts have also been issued for parts of Saskatchewan due to the fires.