Wildfire evacuees from northern Sask. community finding safety in other areas
About 1,000 Stanley Mission residents have been evacuated and brought to Prince Albert and Saskatoon as smoke from the wildfire is posing health risks for those with compromised health conditions.
In an update from the Lac La Ronge Indian Band Emergency Response Facebook Page, emergency management officer Maurice Ratt says Thursday would prove to be a challenging day for air support and ground crews.
“The fire is still not considered a threat to the community at this time,” he said. “Ground crews will continue to work the fire lines, air support along with bucket support from the helicopters will be in the area.”
The first group of residents arrived late Wednesday night to Prince Albert for a meal at Cooke Municipal Golf Course. Club pro Darcy Myers says between 250 and 300 evacuees came for dinner before being sent to various hotels throughout the city.
Prince Albert Inn front desk manager Angela Hendry says the hotel has a plan for accommodating residents fleeing emergencies.
“We put everybody on notice, and we do our best to accommodate people as they come in and make them comfortable,” she said. “We know it’s a hard situation, so we do what we can.”
Most recently, evacuees from Southend were brought to Prince Albert in June 2021.
“Last summer we hosted the Southend community,” said Hendry. “It was quite a large community and they were here for quite a while. That was when they had the really bad fires last June.”
More evacuees are expected to arrive in Prince Albert as the fire is less than three kilometres from the edge of Stanley Mission.
Hendry says the evacuees are dealing with things the best they can.
“They’re not in high spirits, but they’re ok. They just want a hot shower and a bed. It was a very long day, 12 to 15 hour day for them yesterday, and we have a lot of elders here so they appreciated coming to a clean bed and good food in the morning.”
The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency says the fire, which has burned more than 6,000 hectares, is still not considered a threat to the community at this time.
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