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Calgary Herald
5 days ago
- Climate
- Calgary Herald
Four communities around La Ronge, Sask., receive wildfire evacuation orders
Article content Residents of multiple communities in the La Ronge area have been given mandatory evacuation orders after an uncontained wildfire moved closer over the weekend and into Monday. Article content An update from the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) at 6 p.m. Monday said all communities within a 20-kilometre radius of La Ronge are required to evacuate, noting that the fire had already 'breached' the nearby airport. Article content Article content La Ronge — about 240 kilometres north of Prince Albert — is billed as the largest town in northern Saskatchewan with a population of about 2,500. Article content Article content As of Monday, over 8,000 people were displaced and 163 structures (including cabins) had been lost to fire. Article content Sucker River, Wadin Bay, English Bay and Nemeiben received the area's first evacuation orders on Monday morning, followed later in the day by La Ronge, Lac La Ronge, and Air Ronge. The three latter communities — plus Stanley Mission — had been placed on standby notice earlier in the day. Lac La Ronge Indian Band Chief Tammy Cook-Searson issued the order for Sucker Bay at 10 a.m. due to the shifting advancement of the blaze (known as the Pisew fire). Article content An evacuation notice from the SPSA followed at around 11:30 a.m. for the other three subdivisions: Wadin Bay, English Bay and Nemeiben. It advised residents to travel south to La Ronge for co-ordinated supports. Article content La Ronge, Lac La Ronge and Air Ronge were added to the evacuation list late Monday afternoon, along with nearby Napatak, Eagle Point, Lamp Lake, Rabbit Creek and Potato Lake. Article content People driving their own vehicles from the area are being directed to take Highway 2 south and head to the Days Inn in Prince Albert. Those who need to catch transport by bus are to go to the Jonas Roberts Memorial Community Centre in La Ronge. Article content Highway 165 south from Besnard Lake and Highway 969 to Timber Bay were both closed due to smoke and fire. Highway 915 into Stanley Mission was also expected to be compromised. Article content Article content Article content Help on the way? Article content Article content On Monday afternoon, SPSA vice-president of operations Steve Roberts said there were 18 wildfires actively burning in Saskatchewan, with six not contained and four under assessment. Article content 'We are looking at a potential for light showers maybe towards the end of the week, but we still have a number of days of extreme fire weather in front of us,' Roberts said. Article content Situated between Prince Albert and La Ronge, residents of Molanosa and Timber Bay were evacuated Sunday due to heavy smoke caused by another wildfire (known as the Ditch fire), which is still spreading near Montreal Lake. The hamlet of Weyakwin was previously evacuated from the area on May 28.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- 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.
Time of India
27-05-2025
- Climate
- Time of India
'There's fire all over the place': Wildfire forces mass evacuation of Pelican Narrows as only escape route threatened
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel A rapidly advancing wildfire has forced the evacuation of people living in Pelican Narrows, a remote community in northern Saskatchewan, as flames threaten the sole access road and nearby Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation (PBCN), which governs Pelican Narrows, declared a state of emergency on Tuesday(May 27) morning. Chief Peter Beatty emphasized the urgency: "It's a single road that goes south to Hanson Lake Road. The fire itself, when the winds shift late tonight or early tomorrow, it's going to drive that fire toward the access road into Pelican Narrows. That's why we're trying to get people out of the community, as many people as we can today."Residents were instructed to register at Pelican Narrows High School to board evacuation buses starting at 1 pm CST. Approximately 2,000 people remained in the community of 4,000 and were urged to leave immediately, either by bus or personal wildfire has already forced hundreds to relocate to centers in Saskatoon, Prince Albert, and Flin road between Pelican Narrows and Sandy Bay, Highway 135, remains closed, and residents are advised not to use this route. Highway 106, known locally as the Hanson Lake Road, and several roads around Narrow Hills Provincial Park are also closed due to fires, the Campfire and the Shoe fire, which have been burning since early May north of Prince Albert, have merged into one, now referred to as the Shoe fire. This fire has prompted evacuations at Lower Fishing Lake, Piprell Lake, East Trout Lake, and Little Bear Lake, with a pre-evacuation notice for Whiteswan/Whelan of Tuesday morning, the fire had grown to more than 216,000 Ballantyne, a resident of Pelican Narrows, described the harrowing experience: "It's so scary. My hometown is burning. There's fire all over the place." He is now among the evacuees housed at the Saskatoon Hall Lake, about 230 kilometers north of Prince Albert, the Pisew wildfire expanded rapidly from 14,000 to 44,000 hectares within 24 hours. A mandatory evacuation affects about 380 people. A back burn was conducted to protect the community, but concerns remain. "We're kind of worried about if this back burn will hold," said Lac La Ronge Indian Band Coun. Norman Ross. "Yesterday, people were starting to panic because of the smoke [from the back burn], but it was doing what it's supposed to do."The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) reports 21 active wildfires across the province, with only five considered contained. Many communities, including Little Bear Lake, Lower Fishing Lake, and East Trout Lake, are under evacuation orders. Southeast of Prince Albert remains under a pre-alert, and special air quality statements are in SPSA has expanded the provincial fire ban to include all vacant Crown land, provincial parks within the provincial forest, and the provincial forest itself, effective as of 5 pm on May 26, ban prohibits any open fires, controlled burns, and fireworks in the designated areas. "An extreme fire risk exists across most of the province," said SPSA Vice-President of Operations Steve Roberts. "The majority of the active fires in the province are caused by human activity. Everyone needs to know that human-caused fires are preventable."
