The evacuations are the first in Quebec since residents of the northern city of Lebel-sur-Quévillon were allowed to return home Sunday after they had been forced out for two weeks.
More than 500 evacuees will be making the Kisik Tower at the University of Regina their home away from home until it is deemed safe to return to their communities.
"It's a sense of relief but the work doesn't end," said Roy Sean Cheecham from Clearwater Dene Nation. "It was a bit of a wake-up call for how prepared we need to be."
An Alberta Emergency Alert issued around 11:30 p.m. Thursday said there was a wildfire about 10 kilometres northeast of Athabasca, east of Camping Lake and moving west.