Latest news with #CRDN
CBC
2 days ago
- Politics
- CBC
La Loche, Clearwater River Dene Nation evacuees return home
Residents from the Northern Village of La Loche, Sask., are packing up and heading home after the community removed its mandatory evacuation order. The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) said the community also called off its declaration of local emergency as of 9 a.m. CST Friday. "Buses are scheduled to transport evacuees back to La Loche on Friday evening," the SPSA said in its Friday wildfire update. Last weekend, residents took buses to Regina after community leaders issued a mandatory evacuation order due to smoke from the nearby Park Fire. Nearby, Clearwater River Dene Nation (CRDN) has also opened back up to residents. The community also evacuated last weekend due to smoky conditions. "The mandatory evacuation order for our community has officially been lifted," the CRDN emergency response team said in a Facebook post Friday. Evacuee buses started to depart from Saskatoon and Bonnyville around 1:30 p.m. CST. Meanwhile, the SPSA said 12 other communities remain under evacuation orders. Further west, Prince Albert National Park is still experiencing closures and a fire ban. "A small amount of rain fell across the Buhl fire yesterday, helping keep fire behaviour low," Parks Canada said in an update Friday. The Buhl Fire currently sits at 95,666 hectares, with just over 12,700 hectares within the park. Parks Canada said crews made good progress Thursday on priority areas in the south and southeast side of the fire. There are currently 86 active wildfires burning across the province, with only six considered contained. NDP calls on government to cut PST on construction labour As more communities return home, the province's Official Opposition is calling on the Saskatchewan government to cut the PST on construction labour to help residents rebuild homes, cabins and commercial buildings destroyed in the province's north. The NDP said hundreds of residential and commercial structures will need to be rebuilt in communities like East Trout Lake, Denare Beach and Sucker River. The Opposition said construction labour typically accounts for 30 to 50 per cent of total building costs. "We continue to see failure after failure of the Sask Party government to meet the moment to take the necessary steps to protect communities, to support those thousands of evacuees, people who have had the worst summer of their lives," NDP Leader Carla Beck said at a news conference Friday morning. She said thousands of people across the province remain away from their homes — staying as far away as Fort Saskatchewan, Alta. Beck said residents have been constantly working to come up with solutions of how to rebuild their communities and the government is often slow to respond. "These are solutions that the Sask Party government should move on," Beck said, adding that the idea to cut PST was made by Nathan Pitka, a resident from East Trout Lake. Asked about the PST proposal, the Saskatchewan government provided a statement. "PST revenues help fund services in health care, education and social services, as well as programs such as municipal revenue sharing and infrastructure investments that communities rely on," the statement said. "Our government is always looking for ways to ways to stimulate the economy and encourage growth, another critical component in providing these important services and supporting Saskatchewan residents in need." The NDP said it's also continuing to push the government for "immediate, direct financial aid" for businesses in northern communities to help them recover from the wildfires including:
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Evacuations underway as wildfire creeps closer to Clearwater River Dene Nation, La Loche
More than a dozen communities in Saskatchewan's north are under evacuation orders due to wildfires and smoky conditions. Clearwater River Dene Nation, more than 500 kilometres northwest of Saskatoon, is the latest to issue a mandatory evacuation order. It was implemented last Friday for priority one and two individuals, due to thick smoke from the nearby Park Fire. A controlled back burn from the dozer line was completed Friday evening and removed a critical fuel run, the Clearwater River Dene Nation (CRDN) emergency response team said in a Facebook post last Friday. "While this operation helped reduce risk, the fire remains active, volatile and unpredictable," the post said. "Full evacuation is required for community safety and to allow crews space to operate effectively." About 100 firefighters took position along the guard line Saturday, and crews are using helicopter supports and water hauling equipment to target hot spots, according to the CRDN emergency response team. As of Monday evening, the Highway Hotline showed Highway 955 remained closed for roughly 60 kilometres from La Loche up to the Clearwater Truss Bridge. La Loche under evacuation, local state of emergency The nearby northern village of La Loche is also under an active evacuation order, according to the SPSA. The evacuation order was issued due to the "wildfire in close proximity to the municipality and potential for extreme smoky conditions." A local state of emergency was also issued for the community on Friday. "That requires prompt action to prevent harm or damage to the safety, health or welfare of persons located within the boundaries of the Northern Village of La Lache and to prevent damage within those boundaries," the declaration stated. "All of our [evacuee] buses have made it safely to Regina," La Loche administrator Martha Morin confirmed in a Facebook post late Monday afternoon. Buhl Fire lingers near Prince Albert National Park "Fire activity continues to be challenging this week due to smoke and the ongoing warm, dry and windy conditions," Parks Canada said in its Monday update. The park is currently being threatened by the lightning-caused Buhl Fire, which has now grown to more than 93,000 hectares with about 10 per cent of the blaze within the northeast end of Prince Albert National Park. The fire remains in proximity to a number of communities within the park, including: Ramsey Bay at 0.9 kilometres Montreal Lake at 12.5 kilometres Waskesiu at 30.6 kilometres Bittern Lake at 31.8 Kilometres Elk Ridge at 34.8 kilometres McPhee Lake at 37.9 kilometres Parks Canada said 200 personnel are assigned to fighting the Buhl Fire. They're using 12 helicopters, 11 pieces of heavy equipment and one infrared scanning drone. The SPSA is continuing to work alongside Parks Canada in its firefighting efforts to create barriers to prevent the flames from spreading. They're also using dozers to continue work along the guard line, and direct suppression tactics along the eastern and southeastern perimeters. As of Monday afternoon, the SPSA said there were 82 active wildfires in Saskatchewan. Of those, seven were listed as contained.
CBC
6 days ago
- Climate
- CBC
Evacuations underway as wildfire creeps closer to Clearwater River Dene Nation, La Loche
More than a dozen communities in Saskatchewan's north are under evacuation orders due to wildfires and smoky conditions. Clearwater River Dene Nation, more than 500 kilometres northwest of Saskatoon, is the latest to issue a mandatory evacuation order. It was implemented last Friday for priority one and two individuals, due to thick smoke from the nearby Park Fire. A controlled back burn from the dozer line was completed Friday evening and removed a critical fuel run, the Clearwater River Dene Nation (CRDN) emergency response team said in a Facebook post last Friday. "While this operation helped reduce risk, the fire remains active, volatile and unpredictable," the post said. "Full evacuation is required for community safety and to allow crews space to operate effectively." About 100 firefighters took position along the guard line Saturday, and crews are using helicopter supports and water hauling equipment to target hot spots, according to the CRDN emergency response team. As of Monday evening, the Highway Hotline showed Highway 955 remained closed for roughly 60 kilometres from La Loche up to the Clearwater Truss Bridge. La Loche under evacuation, local state of emergency The nearby northern village of La Loche is also under an active evacuation order, according to the SPSA. The evacuation order was issued due to the "wildfire in close proximity to the municipality and potential for extreme smoky conditions." A local state of emergency was also issued for the community on Friday. "That requires prompt action to prevent harm or damage to the safety, health or welfare of persons located within the boundaries of the Northern Village of La Lache and to prevent damage within those boundaries," the declaration stated. "All of our [evacuee] buses have made it safely to Regina," La Loche administrator Martha Morin confirmed in a Facebook post late Monday afternoon. Buhl Fire lingers near Prince Albert National Park "Fire activity continues to be challenging this week due to smoke and the ongoing warm, dry and windy conditions," Parks Canada said in its Monday update. The park is currently being threatened by the lightning-caused Buhl Fire, which has now grown to more than 93,000 hectares with about 10 per cent of the blaze within the northeast end of Prince Albert National Park. As of Monday, the fire remained in proximity to a number of communities within the park, including: Ramsey Bay at 0.9 kilometres Montreal Lake at 12.5 kilometres Waskesiu at 30.6 kilometres Bittern Lake at 31.8 Kilometres Elk Ridge at 34.8 kilometres McPhee Lake at 37.9 kilometres Parks Canada said 200 personnel are assigned to fighting the Buhl Fire. They're using 12 helicopters, 11 pieces of heavy equipment and one infrared scanning drone. The SPSA is continuing to work alongside Parks Canada in its firefighting efforts to create barriers to prevent the flames from spreading. They're also using dozers to continue work along the guard line, and direct suppression tactics along the eastern and southeastern perimeters. As of Monday afternoon, the SPSA said there were 82 active wildfires in Saskatchewan. Of those, seven were listed as contained.
