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Calgary Herald
10 hours 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.
CTV News
15 hours ago
- General
- CTV News
‘We have feelers already out': Sask. ready to lean on Alberta for help with evacuees if needed
WATCH: As the forests burn, and more people are displaced in the province, officials are reaching out to Alberta and Manitoba looking for support for evacuees. A wildfire raging near Pelican Narrows has led to nearly 2,000 people being evacuated from the area – with many of them finding refuge in Saskatoon. As of Sunday, June 1, more than 8,000 people had been evacuated due to wildfire risk. Monday evening saw that number expand by several thousand, as the communities of La Ronge, Air Ronge and Lac La Ronge Indian Band fell under mandatory evacuations. It's all hands-on deck to find places for people to go and that includes the local hospitality industry. 'When wildfires happen, that's typically the time of year when our hotels are getting full with other types of business so it can be a real challenge and can raise some real questions about how to best manage displaced persons, ' Jim Bence, CEO and president of Hospitality Saskatchewan, told CTV News. According to the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA), some people were taken to Cold Lake in Alberta last week. If needed, the province is prepared to lean on its western neighbour again. 'If Saskatchewan as a province is not able to support the numbers, then yes, indeed, we have feelers already out. Those are to our neighbours, obviously to the west which makes more sense because Manitoba is also constrained,' SPSA vice president of operations Steve Roberts explained. The Saskatoon Tribal Council (STC) is helping to move evacuees from some reserves while the SPSA is moving others, sometimes in the same area. 'So, that's where there's some confusion on, who do I contact if I need support. So, we understand that, but the primary goal is to get people out of harm's way and then try to get them to support sending once they're out of harm's way,' Roberts said. The Canadian Red Cross continues their work to help evacuees at The Cosmo Civic Centre and various hotels in Saskatoon. They are also providing an opportunity for Canadians who want to help. Anyone interested can do so by donating to the 2025 Saskatchewan Wildfire Appeal. The donations support Saskatchewan people impacted by the wildfires. Donations will ensure the Red Cross can provide immediate and ongoing aid. The hospitality industry, meanwhile, is currently working on a system where people can go in an emergency to quickly find accommodations provincewide. 'It won't just list which rooms are available, but where they're available so that when the traffic cascades, where can we get people situated the fastest, the most efficiently,' Bence said. As of Monday evening, 36 communities across northern Saskatchewan have either been evacuated or are under an evacuation order –leading to a constantly changing evacuee support plan.
Global News
a day ago
- Climate
- Global News
Over 2 dozen Saskatchewan communities evacuated as northern wildfires rage
Thousands of people have been affected by wildfires in Saskatchewan, ignited by hot, dry weather that has allowed flames to grow and threaten dozens of communities. In an update Monday afternoon, the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) said 16 fires are actively burning and the province has had 219 fires to date in 2025 — a significant jump from the five-year average of 131 wildfires. Of the 16 wildfires, five have been contained and six are still out of control. The fires have resulted in several road closures and Steve Roberts, the vice-president of operations for the SPSA, stressed those who do not absolutely need to be in wildfire-affected areas need to stay away. He said the fire situation is dynamic and changing even hour by hour, explaining some roads that were open Monday morning were closed by by early afternoon. Story continues below advertisement 'Non-essential travel on any of these roads is not advised, so seriously consider if you do wish to travel, that there is a bona fide essential need,' Roberts said, adding the roads need to remain clear for emergency crews and supplies to get where they need to go. 1:57 Smoke filled skies in Saskatchewan Because of the fire intensity and the weather conditions, a full fire ban and ATV ban across the entire northern part of Saskatchewan will remain in effect to ensure no more human-cause fires are started. The bans will remain until conditions improve. '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.' Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "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." Saskatchewan is receiving help from across Canada and the United States, but has not requested any aid from the Canadian Armed Forces. Story continues below advertisement Roberts noted while the military can help with airlifting people to safety, troops are not extensively trained to fight fires. 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 'They have limited exposure to it, so their ability to assist in that is limited and that's why we have not brought them in to date.' Instead, he said highly-qualified fire crews have arrived from Quebec, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, British Columbia, Yukon, Northwest Territories, along with the U.S. states of Alaska, Oregon and Arizona. 'We appreciate their support as we fight through these very busy times and try to protect people, roads, access and get these fires contained as best as we can until we see a turn in the weather.' 3:29 Over 90% of Saskatchewan wildfires 'caused by human activity': Premier Scott Moe Northeast Saskatchewan fire departments are also responding. Mike Kwasnica, chief of the Humboldt Fire Department, told 'The Humboldt Fire Department is currently deploying groups of four firefighters at a time. Each group will do a four-day tour. We have committed to a minimum of 12 days to start.' Story continues below advertisement Kwasnica said they have been in discussions with the SPSA for a while and were put on notice last week. At present, Kwasnica said they have been asked to protect structures within the Weyakwin area. Across the province, 163 structures have been lost — both buildings such as homes, cottages, sheds and garages on private properties and provincial assets such as in Narrow Hills Provincial Park. The province said an estimated 8,000 people have been displaced due to evacuations in 26 communities, parks and mines. That said, the SPSA noted the number is in flux as some evacuees from earlier fires are able to return home, such as those from Canoe Lake who fled west to shelter in the Alberta community of Cold Lake last week. 2:06 Canada wildfires: Thousands flee Prairie communities as fires intensify The province said it was scouring every community in Saskatchewan for possible space to house evacuees but said in the event more people have to flee their homes and there's no room, it's in talks with Alberta to take in evacuees if needed. Story continues below advertisement 'Obviously to the west makes more sense because Manitoba is also constrained,' Roberts said, where more than 17,000 people have been displaced in the past week, including all 5,000 residents of Flin Flon. That wildfire is raging on both sides of the provincial border. On the Saskatchewan side, it's listed as 25,000 hectares, forcing Creighton and surrounding communities to be evacuated. SPSA said the fire is growing but to the north, away from the communities. The largest wildfire in the province, the Shoe fire burning northeast of Prince Albert, was 407,000 hectares on Monday after growing over the past 24 hours. It led to several community evacuations and the closure of Narrow Hills Provincial Park. Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said all of Confederation has come together to help out the three Prairie provinces. Story continues below advertisement 'Many others around this table are consistently reaching out to the three of us to offer resources,' he said. 'And for that, we're very grateful.' Moe has said there will likely be many more evacuation orders over the next week. Evacuation orders have been issued for many areas in the north, including: Piprell Lake Narrow Hills Provincial Park East Trout Lake Hall Lake Brabant Lake Lower Fishing Lake Pelican Narrows Whiteswan/Whelan Bay Birch Portage First Nation Sturgeon Weir Deschambault Lake Creighton/Denare Beach/Jan Lake Weyakwin Resort subdivision of Ramsey Bay Northern hamlet of Timber Bay Molanosa Nemeiben Lake Sucker River Wadin Bay English Bay 1:52 '30 minutes to get out': Wildfires force evacuations in Alta., Sask. — with files from Brittany Hobson, The Canadian Press and Nicole Goldsworthy,
CBC
2 days ago
- Climate
- CBC
No relief in sight from wildfires as 20 Sask. communities under evacuation orders
Social Sharing Wildfires in Saskatchewan are expected to continue to grow aggressively during the next few days, fuelled by high temperatures, winds and dry conditions. And there's no sign of relief in sight, according to the latest update from the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency. "This will drastically impact our ability to contain some of these fires and will actually cause some of these fires to grow in size over the next period of time," Steve Roberts, SPSA vice-president of operations, said at a news conference Sunday. As of Sunday afternoon, 15 fires were burning in the province, down from 17 because two fires have merged and some small fires have been contained, the SPSA said. Roberts said 20 communities are under an evacuation order as of 1 p.m. CST Sunday. The latest evacuation orders have been in Sturgeon Landing and Timber Bay. Thousands of people have already been displaced from their homes in communities including Hall Lake, Pelican Narrows, Creighton, Denare Beach and Weyakwin. Fires continue to impact highways, restricting access to some communities. Roberts said closures are happening constantly, and people should check the Highway Hotline for the latest updates. He said as of Sunday, 80 values, including houses and cabins, have been lost to the wildfires. At a news conference in Saskatoon on Sunday, Premier Scott Moe said while provinces in Canada share resources in situations like these wildfires, a national investment in shared fire fighting forces should be considered. "Should we have a national investment into, for argument's sake, five, 10 or 20 air tankers that could then go into that process to be shared wherever they might be needed in whatever particular year?" Moe said. "Should we nationally as Canadians add to that resource pool so that all provinces and territories — and even in fairness into the U.S. in some years in California, we've seen some challenging years — be able to draw from that as a global partner?" WATCH | Sask. premier says resources are stretched as wildfires rage: Sask. premier says resources are stretched as wildfires rage 1 day ago Duration 2:11 At a news conference on Saturday, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said the province is 'using all the resources we can' as a spate of wildfires have forced thousands of people to flee their homes. 'We cannot manage and handle a single other fire,' he said. Latest evacuations Moe said on Sunday morning that Sturgeon Landing has been evacuated. The community is part of Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation, in the province's northeast. Also on Sunday, the Northern Hamlet of Timber Bay issued an alert that residents must begin evacuating immediately. A nearby wildfire is fast-moving and threatening the community, the alert said. The community is on the east shore of Montreal Lake, north of Prince Albert. The alert advised people to self-evacuate using highways 969 and 2, and to go to the Meridian Inn and Suites in Regina. The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency "will be there to welcome you," it said. WATCH | The fire weather pattern everyone is watching: The fire weather pattern everyone is watching 3 days ago Duration 1:41 It's still May, and wildfire season across the Prairies is already off to a dangerous and fast-moving start. Meteorologist Johanna Wagstaffe explains how extreme heat, and gusty winds are creating a perfect storm for fire growth — with no rain in sight. Carl Hennie, a volunteer firefighter in Timber Bay, said things changed very quickly. "Fast, it happened pretty fast. The fire's way east of us, but the winds shifted," Hennie said in an interview Sunday. He also said that Timber Bay's only fire truck is broken. "It hasn't worked for a few years now because there's no funding to fix it.… It is concerning. We're just lucky we haven't had a house where people and kids [are] in there, lucky so far," he said. Hennie said the pumps froze up a while ago and the whole truck broke down — and being a small community, there is only enough money for operational costs. Pre-evacuation for Molanosa Also on Sunday, Montreal Lake Cree Nation declared a pre-evacuation notice for people in Molanosa, a small, isolated community about 150 kilometres north of Prince Albert. The First Nation said the alert is due to high winds from the west that were expected to cause heavy smoke and possibly push a wildfire in the region closer to the community. The Ditch02 fire is burning west of Molanosa. Any community member who chooses to leave at this point is urged to go to the Montreal Lake Child and Family Services building, the designated meeting point and command centre. The band said evacuees have to go there to receive services. Cabin burned down Geoffrey Bird from Montreal Lake Cree Nation was part of the volunteer firefighting team that stayed back in the community in 2015 when a wildfire forced thousands to flee for a long time. It's déjà vu for him as he waits for orders from the authorities. "My cabins burned down on East Road," he said. "That's towards Candle Lake.…That's where my mom had built a cabin, and I inherited that cabin. I haven't gone to see it yet," he said. Bird said that no one is allowed to go to that area right now as it is too dangerous. 'It just went instantly dark' Lisa Powder, from Weyakwin, evacuated to Montreal Lake Cree Nation four days ago. She said that when she and her family left, the fire was extremely close to the community. "It was really close, and we had to get in buses and get over here. You could hardly see anything. It just went instantly dark, from sunshine to darkness," Powder said. "I worry about the homes, the structures, the cabins, the animals and the firefighters … and our pets. Our pets are all there," she said. "It's scary. We don't know when we wake up in the morning, if there's anything left but [we have] confidence in the boys back home and they'll save everything." SaskTel outages SaskTel internet, wireless and landline services are unavailable in Deschambault Lake and Pelican Narrows in the province's northeast, according to a statement Sunday. "Additionally, SaskTel anticipates these services will also become unavailable in Jan Lake sometime this afternoon," the statement said. SaskTel said that services will remain unavailable until commercial power is restored or until it is safe for SaskTel crews to go into impacted areas.
CTV News
2 days ago
- Climate
- CTV News
Approximately 8,000 now evacuated as wildfires wreak havoc in northern Saskatchewan
This photo provided by the Manitoba government shows wildfires in Sherridon, Manitoba, Canada on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (Manitoba government via AP) A total of 20 communities are now considered active evacuations – as wildfires continue to wreak havoc across northern Saskatchewan. As of Sunday, June 1, the communities of Timber Bay and Molanosa were added to the growing evacuations list due to activity from the nearby Ditch Fire, which is estimated to have doubled from its initial size of 10,000 hectares. The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) is instructing those in Timber Lake to travel to Regina for lodging – located more than 400 kilometres away. Steve Roberts, the vice president of operations with the SPSA, says this is due to province-wide capacity issues. 'Our preference would be the closest town, keeping entire communities and families intact. Now, we have pretty much occupied every available space, right from the north all the way down to Weyburn,' he explained during a briefing Sunday afternoon. 'The Canoe Lake individuals actually had to evacuate and move into Alberta.' Approximately 8,000 residents have been forced to evacuate their homes in the face of fires approaching their communities or threatening to cut off vital evacuation routes. The threat of the latter by the Club Fire has caused the evacuation of Creighton and Denare Beach – in addition to the city of Flin Flon across the Manitoba border. According to Roberts, the Club Fire has grown to an estimated 25,000 hectares – which only includes the Saskatchewan portion of the blaze. 'This fire is extremely large on both sides of the border. The [estimate] will actually grow today based on fire activity overnight,' he explained. The Shoe Fire remains Saskatchewan's largest – covering an estimated 305,000 hectares – up from 216,000 hectares when the province declared a state of emergency on May 29. 'Based on our fire activity and the weather I described earlier, the provincial fire ban continues in all the northern portions of the province and provincial parks in the area, and all communities in the northern municipal administration district,' Roberts said. There are currently 15 active wildfires in Saskatchewan – down from 17 fires late last week. Over the past several days, Roberts says fire crews have extinguished some smaller blazes while other fires, like the Point Fire and Pelican Fire, have combined – leading to the smaller total. Wildfires in the province have now claimed upwards of 80 'values,' which include buildings and other pieces of infrastructure. Work continues to protect the resort village of Candle Lake. The community faced a voluntary evacuation notice prior to the province's state of emergency. 'The fuel break adjacent to Highway 120, east of Candle Lake is progressing well, with multiple pieces of heavy equipment, bulldozers clearing that back to provide a potential barrier should the fire move towards that community,' Roberts added. The province continues to mobilize firefighting resources from across Canada and the United States, with equipment and personnel arriving from Quebec, Alaska, British Columbia, Oregon and Arizona. There have been 214 wildfires so far this year – up from the five-year average of 129. Roberts says that the SPSA hopes to maintain the current evacuation numbers, noting that some communities, such as Canoe Lake, have already begun to see residents return as fire conditions stabilize.
