Latest news with #CherishMorin
Time of India
3 days ago
- Climate
- Time of India
State of emergency: Over 4,000 evacuated as wildfires threaten Northern Saskatchewan communities
Northern Saskatchewan is in the grip of an intense and rapidly escalating wildfire crisis, forcing at least 4,000 residents to flee their homes and communities. The most severe impact is felt in the northern village of Pelican Narrows, where flames edge dangerously close to residential areas, threatening both homes and vital road access. Pelican Narrows, about 400 kilometres northeast of Prince Albert, has seen approximately 2,000 residents evacuated, with another 2,000 ordered to leave immediately. The Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation declared a state of emergency on Tuesday, May 28, as the fire situation worsened. Many evacuees are being transported by bus to safety in Prince Albert, Saskatoon, and Flin Flon, while those driving receive fuel assistance. Play Video Pause Skip Backward Skip Forward Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration 0:00 Loaded : 0% 0:00 Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 1x Playback Rate Chapters Chapters Descriptions descriptions off , selected Captions captions settings , opens captions settings dialog captions off , selected Audio Track default , selected Picture-in-Picture Fullscreen This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Text Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Caption Area Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Drop shadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Air conditioners without external unit. (click to see prices) Air Condition | Search Ads Search Now Undo Also Read: Wildfire forces mass evacuation of Pelican Narrows Cherish Morin, a Pelican Narrows resident who reached Saskatoon early Tuesday, described the overwhelming stress of evacuation. "There's lots of people at the gas station gassing up. Everyone was in the panic mood," she told CBC News. Forced to detour after Highway 106 closed, Morin and her partner arrived in Saskatoon at 2 a.m. only to find themselves scrambling to find hotel rooms. Live Events Morin's concerns extend beyond her own safety; she worries for the community members, including her grandfather, who chose to stay behind as security. "I'm very stressed out about the whole situation," she said. "I just hope like they can get the fire under control and then we can go home." The fires have not only upended lives in Pelican Narrows. Several other northern communities are grappling with evacuation orders or warnings. For instance, more than 380 residents from Hall Lake were evacuated on Monday, May 27, and Canoe Lake leaders moved about 500 people to safety in neighbouring Alberta towns. In Manitoba, the nearby city of Flin Flon has issued pre-evacuation notices and begun moving high-acuity patients from its hospital due to advancing flames crossing provincial borders. Steve Roberts, Vice-President of Operations at the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA), described this wildfire season as historic in both scale and intensity. "We have not seen a fire season with as much impact and activity in the last couple of decades," Roberts said, emphasizing that nearly every wildfire this year was caused by human activity. Currently, there are 17 active wildfires in Saskatchewan, with ten still uncontained. The largest fire in the province is a merger of two blazes in Narrow Hills Provincial Park, now threatening multiple communities and prompting evacuation alerts for Candle Lake and others. Smoke and closures have added to the disruption. Highway 106, a major route in the region, is closed, forcing detours and complicating evacuation efforts. The City of Saskatoon has responded by closing the Cosmo Civic Centre to the public and designating it as an evacuation site, with costs to be covered by the Canadian Red Cross. Authorities have also urged the public to avoid flying drones near fires, as one grounded water bomber aircraft was unable to operate because of unauthorised drone flights.
CBC
3 days ago
- Climate
- CBC
At least 4K people evacuated from their homes due to aggressive wildfires in northern Sask.
Social Sharing At least 4,000 people have evacuated their homes and communities due to aggressive wildfires in northern Saskatchewan. The largest group of evacuees has fled the northern village of Pelican Narrows, about 400 kilometres northeast of Prince Albert, where a wildfire burns dangerously close to the community and threatens road access. Poor Internet connection? CBC Lite is our low-bandwidth website. Cherish Morin, a resident from Pelican Narrows, arrived in Saskatoon early Tuesday morning. She said packing up and leaving her home behind was stressful. "There's lots of people at the gas station gassing up. It was just like a really like, I would say, in the panic. Everyone was in the panic mood," Morin told CBC Tuesday. Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation (PBCN) declared a state of emergency on Tuesday for Pelican Narrows. Chief Peter Beatty told CBC News about 2,000 people had left Pelican Narrows and surrounding communities already and another 2,000 were being told to leave immediately, either by bus or in their own vehicles. Evacuation centres have been set up in Prince Albert, Flin Flon and Saskatoon. Morin said Highway 106 was closed Monday evening, which forced her to take a road near La Ronge, adding extra travel time. "Me and my partner got into Saskatoon around 2 a.m. and then we had to scatter around looking for rooms." Now, in Saskatoon, she is hoping for the best – that her home will go unscathed. "I'm very stressed out about the whole situation. Like, very worried because my grandpa decided to stay back to be security." Candle Lake seeks permission, funding for firebreak as wildfire encroaches 10 hours ago Duration 2:25 As wildfires rapidly advance in Saskatchewan, communities like Candle Lake are growing anxious. Candle Lake officials say they've asked the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) for permission to build a protective firebreak along Highway 120, to protect the resort village, along with Paddockwood. Morin said she's also worried about the other houses in her community and the people, like her grandfather, who have decided to stay and help. "I just hope like they can get the fire under control and then we can go home." Historical wildfire season: SPSA Meanwhile, in the northern community of Hall Lake, more than 380 people left Monday due to another wildfire. "We have not seen a fire season with as much impact and activity in the last couple of decades," said Steve Roberts, vice-president of operations for the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA), on Tuesday afternoon. Roberts said almost every single fire so far was caused by humans. As of Wednesday morning, there were 17 active wildfires in the province. Ten of those fires were not contained. The Denare Beach area — not far from the Saskatchewan-Manitoba border — has the most un-contained wildfires in the province, with four burning. Leaders in Canoe Lake, about 120 kilometres north of Meadow Lake in northwest Saskatchewan, decided to evacuate after a fire started very close to the community on Monday. About 250 people have been moved to Cold Lake, Alta., and another 250 people to Lloydminster. Two fires that have been burning in the Narrow Hills Provincial Park area — the Camp fire and Shoe fire — have now merged into the largest fire in the province. The huge fire has prompted evacuations at Lower Fishing Lake, Piprell Lake, East Trout Lake, Little Bear Lake, and pre-evacuation alerts for Candle Lake and other smaller communities. The amount of fires this year to date is significantly higher than in 2024, with 205 fires since the beginning of the year. That's up from 165 last year during the same period, according to the SPCA. In a news release issued Tuesday afternoon, the city of Saskatoon said the Cosmo Civic Centre is closed to the public, and is now a designated evacuation site.
