Latest news with #Cook-Searson
Yahoo
24-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Long-term health effects of wildfire smoke exposure a growing concern
Smoke from Saskatchewan's wildfires may have largely dissipated for now, but researchers say the effects on people's health can linger. Sarah Henderson, director of environmental health services with British Columbia's Centre for Disease Control, said researchers are finding the health effects of exposure to wildfire smoke go beyond acute symptoms like coughing and sore throats. "There's some pretty cool and slightly scary new studies around dementia, for example, where people who were exposed to wildfire smoke were at much higher risk of developing dementia than people who were exposed to air pollution from other sources," Henderson told CBC's The Morning Edition. The studies have particular resonance in Saskatchewan. Much of the province spent the first two weeks of June under air quality warnings as thick smoke from out-of-control northern wildfires cloaked towns and cities, forcing the cancellation of some outdoor events and prompting some people to start wearing masks when venturing outdoors. While the smoke has cleared in recent days, the province is just at the start of wildfire season. Henderson said it's particularly important that people with existing illnesses remain indoors during smoky days, but they aren't the only ones that need to limit their exposure to smoke. She said studies are showing that exposure to wildfire smoke increases the risk of developing diabetes, heart disease and respiratory disease. It's also dangerous for pregnant women. "We know that being exposed to wildfire smoke during pregnancy is associated with slightly lower birth weight among children. It can be associated with pre-term birth and even very severe outcomes like still birth," Henderson said. She said that along with reducing time spent outdoors during smoky weather, people should check their homes for any gaps that might let smoke in, such as dryer and kitchen vents. Henderson also recommended air filtration systems to help improve indoor air quality. Dealing with smoke-filled air isn't new to people living in northern Saskatchewan. Tammy Cook-Searson, chief of the Lac La Ronge Indian Band (LLRIB), said people living in the north deal with wildfire smoke every summer. After wildfires in 2015 choked the province with smoke, Cook-Searson said the LLRIB invested in "air scrubbers," to help purify indoor air. The scrubbers are installed at halls in LLRIB's six separate communities to provide fresh-air shelters for residents who need to escape the smoke-filled air. "We find them to be really effective. They really clean the air," said Cook-Searson. The scrubbers are also permanently installed in band offices and health clinics. "Without an air scrubber the wildfire smoke just seeps into the home or the buildings. It just kind of lingers in there," Cook-Searson said. She said using the scrubbers in fresh-air shelters also allows the LLRIB to keep people in their communities until an evacuation is ordered. "Especially if you have asthma or any chronic lung disease, it really impacts [you]," she said. "You can't run around as fast. The smoke really gets into your lungs." Cook-Searson said local doctors have noticed the difference in air quality between the La Ronge Hospital, which didn't have a scrubber, and the LLRIB health centres. "We advised them to get one and they've been able to get an air scrubber at the hospital too." Cook-Searson said the LLRIB's next step is to find a way to get air scrubbers into people's homes.
Global News
10-06-2025
- Climate
- Global News
La Ronge area set to lift evacuation order Thursday, band chief says
Thousands of Saskatchewan wildfire evacuees are about to be able to go home, with the Lac La Ronge Indian Band announcing residents will be able to return to the La Ronge area starting Thursday. Chief Tammy Cook-Searson confirmed to Global News the barrier on the south side of the tri-community will be removed on Thursday at 8 a.m., the same time the evacuation order will lift. 'We are grateful we'll be able to start returning our community members home,' she said. The area, home to over 7,000 people, was evacuated on June 2 as the PISEW wildfire rapidly advanced towards the region from the west. Residents described fleeing in vehicles while flames roared on the side of the highway. The fire did breach La Ronge, burning down the iconic Robertson's Trading Post, as well as the local Rona store. Firefighters also faced challenges around the La Ronge airport and other industrial areas. However, most of the region was saved. Story continues below advertisement A notice from the towns of La Ronge, Air Ronge, and the Lac La Ronge Indian Band said the evacuation order will also be lifted for Sucker River, Hall Lake and Stanley Mission. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'The fire is looking good,' Cook-Searson said. '(The firefighters) are confident that they'll be able to fight the fires.' She noted fire crews have come from across Saskatchewan to assist in fighting off the flames, and recent downpours in the area have helped immensely. The repatriation will be staged, with healthy evacuees in private vehicles able to return on Thursday. A full return for all residents is scheduled to begin on Saturday. Face of firefight changing as threat diminishes The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency says changing weather conditions have helped crews make 'operational progress' on many of the major fires burning in the northern half of the province. Fire bans are expected to be lifted in areas north of the Churchill River that received rainfall, while more evacuation orders are being rescinded. 'What we were experiencing even as short as a week ago is greatly diminished,' Steve Roberts, SPSA vice-president of operations, said. 'Our tactics have switched from aerial suppression to try and hold these fires, to actual direct attack on the ground with firefighters to start securing these lines.' Story continues below advertisement He noted the large fires are expected to continue burning throughout the fire season, but he is expecting only small incursions from fire lines. 'They will be constantly monitored. They will flare up at times,' Roberts said. The SPSA is also now going to combine the classification of the Club and Wolf fires, burning near Creighton, Sask. and Flin Flon, Man. into one blaze due to the joining of the two fires. They will be jointly referred to as the Wolf fire in future communications. As of Tuesday afternoon, 23 wildfires were burning across Saskatchewan. Six of those are classified as out of control, while another two are 'protecting values,' which means fire crews are focusing on fending off flames from properties and assets like vehicles and campers.
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Yahoo
2 people charged with arson, accused of starting fires in Sask.
While wildfires continue to rage in the province, two Saskatchewan residents are separately charged with arson for allegedly deliberately setting fires. At Friday's daily media briefing, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe announced the charges and said that one of them was for starting one of the province's major wildfires. But in a news release later in the afternoon, the RCMP detailed charges that were laid for two suspicious fires — one that Waskesiu RCMP responded to off Highway 696 on May 30 and one that Nipawin RCMP responded to in a ditch beside the Snowden turnoff on Highway 55 on June 3. Neither of those appear to be related to a major wildfire. The fire that Moe initially referred to, the Ditch fire, near Weyakwin, was reported on May 26. It has grown to 95,000 hectares and appears to be moving very close to the massive Shoe fire — the largest blaze in the province at more than 470,000 hectares. Those fires and others in northern Saskatchewan have forced thousands of residents from their homes. The province declared a state of emergency on May 29 due to the wildfire situation. As of Friday, there were 23 active fires and 248 total fires this year — far above the five-year average of 139. "We understand there is public interest in seeing if any wildfires can be fully or partially attributed to criminal acts," Saskatchewan RCMP wrote in the media release. "Checking into the circumstances of each report of arson received recently will take some time." The 18-year-old woman from Montreal Lake Cree Nation charged in the May 30 fire was scheduled to appear in court in that community on Thursday, while the 36-year-old man from Pelican Narrows charged in the June 3 fire was scheduled to appear in Prince Albert provincial court on Friday. Shifting winds bring fresh wildfire threat to La Ronge Strong winds pushing a wildfire toward the industrial park and Eagle Point areas, just northeast of the town of La Ronge, triggered an alert for the region on Friday morning. The community is already subject to an evacuation order, but any people that haven't left those particular areas were told to get to a safe place. Tammy Cook-Searson, chief of the Lac La Ronge Indian Band, said the situation is serious and unpredictable. "The wind has shifted. It's coming in from the southwest right now and it's pushing the fire northeast," she said on Friday morning. Cook-Searson said the Pisew Fire, which began near Hall Lake, has since grown to threaten several surrounding communities. There have been significant structure losses in both Hall Lake, west of La Ronge, and Sucker River, north of La Ronge, due to the fire. "The fire is less than two kilometres just north of Sucker River and it's heading northeast," she said. "And then there's also the fire that has reached Clam Bridge, where the bridge has burnt and the structure has been lost there, and it's moving northwest." Cook-Searson confirmed that both Highway 2 and Highway 102 are currently closed and impassable due to wildfire activity. Any people still in La Ronge are being directed to the Jonas Roberts Memorial Community Centre, which is serving as the local muster point. "Right now it's unpredictable," Cook-Searson said. "The flames were pretty big this morning just before 5 a.m. right behind the fire base on the Industrial Road in the town of La Ronge."Cook-Searson said emergency crews are working hard to hold the line. "We are expecting rain starting at noon today," she added. "So hopefully it materializes and fingers crossed that we do get that rain — much needed rain — because the fires are burning out of control." Residents are urged to stay away from the area and continue following evacuation guidance from local officials and emergency services. As thousands evacuated La Ronge due to an advancing wildfire, some residents made the difficult decision to stay behind — hoping to protect their homes and keep watch over their community. Terry Hunt is one of them. Speaking to CBC Radio's Blue Sky, Hunt said he remained in La Ronge to defend his property and voiced concerns about what he sees as an inadequate provincial response. "We're in a pretty tough situation up here, and I'm feeling that our provincial government is not doing enough to help us out," Hunt said. Hunt said the community was without power and alleged there had been looting. RCMP confirmed one report of looting in a news release Friday, saying officers stopped a vehicle at a checkpoint on Highway 2 on Wednesday that had been stolen from La Ronge and found items in it that were linked to a theft in the community the day before. Two men were charged. Police say officers are regularly patrolling evacuated communities as part of wildfire response efforts. Still, Hunt believes more boots on the ground — including military support — are urgently needed. "I think we need more police on the ground, which includes the armed forces coming up here," he said. Despite the hardship and danger, some evacuees have found small ways to stay hopeful. Some drivers fleeing La Ronge earlier in the week were forced to wait for hours on the highway due to smoke and fire. That's where Terri Roberts and others met up with a friend — whose granddaughter was having a birthday. They brought the cake along, and sang right there on the roadside. "She was holding her cake and we all started singing Happy Birthday to her outside of the car.… I've never experienced something like that, but it was pretty emotional," Roberts said. "She was just full of smiles and we could see she was quite appreciative of what we did for her." Roberts says they eventually made it south to info on active fires, smoke and related topics is available at these sources:
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Four communites around La Ronge given wildfire evacuation orders
Residents of Sucker River, Wadin Bay, English Bay and Nemeiben have been given a mandatory evacuation order, as a uncontained wildfire near La Ronge moved closer to the community over the weekend. Lac La Ronge Indian Band Chief Tammy Cook-Searson issued the order for Sucker Bay at 10 a.m. on Monday, due to the shifting closeness of the Pisew fire. It is burning just 16 kilometres west of La Ronge, about 260 kilometres north of Prince Albert. An evacuation notice from the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) for the three other subdivisions followed at around 11:30 a.m. It advised residents to travel south to La Ronge for coordinated supports. Nearby, La Ronge, Lac La Ronge, Air Ronge and Stanley Mission were also put on standby notice, due to the same fire's proximity. The resort subdivision of Ramsey Bay was advised to flee on Friday, with arrangements made to escort evacuees south. Arrangements for buses, gas for personal vehicles and accommodations through Red Cross were in the works as of Monday at 10 a.m., according to a statement from Cook-Searson shared online. Highway 165 south from Besnard Lake and Highway 969 to Timber Bay are both closed due to smoke and fire. Residents were advised Highway 915 into Stanley Mission was also expected to be compromised. Those leaving any of the four communities on Monday are to meet at the Jonas Roberts Memorial Community Centre in La Ronge for buses and other supports. The Pisew fire has reached around 83,000 hectares in size as of Monday, according to the SPSA's active wildfire map online. More than 8,000 people from 20 northern Saskatchewan communities remain on mandatory evacuation orders due to wildfires. Residents of Molanosa and Timber Bay were evacuated on Sunday, due to heavy smoke in the area caused by the Ditch wildfire, which is still spreading near Montreal Lake. The hamlet of Weyakwin was previously evacuated from the area on May 28. Some evacuees from Canoe Lake First Nation were granted permission to return home late Sunday, though warned the air quality in the area remains poor due to smoke. The Shoe fire in Narrow Hills Provincial Park, currently threatening 11 communities including Candle Lake, Smeaton and Choiceland, has grown to over 305,000 hectares in size as of Monday. Saskatchewan has declared a provincial state of emergency, and imposed a provincewide fire ban as well as an ATV ban in the northern district to reduce risk of new fires sparking. A daily update from the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency on the situation is expected Monday afternoon. lkurz@ 'These are devastating': Dispatches on the Saskatchewan wildfire situation Saskatchewan premier says more evacuations likely if current weather persists 'This is our home': P.A. grand chief says Sask. wildfire situation is dire, but northern people are ready to fight The Regina Leader-Post has created an Afternoon Headlines newsletter that can be delivered daily to your inbox so you are up to date with the most vital news of the day. Click here to subscribe. With some online platforms blocking access to the journalism upon which you depend, our website is your destination for up-to-the-minute news, so make sure to bookmark and sign up for our newsletters so we can keep you informed. Click here to subscribe.
