With highways temporarily closed due to wildfires, La Ronge Mayor Colin Ratushniak is advising residents not to panic.
Highways 2 and 102 were both closed to traffic Friday as several uncontained fires continue to burn in Northern Saskatchewan. While there is no imminent threat in the La Ronge area, the communities of Grandmother’s Bay, Hall Lake and Stanley Mission were all placed on evacuation standby notice this week because of poor air conditions due to smoke.
Ratushniak is asking residents to remain calm adding there in no need for panic buying or rushing to purchase fuel.
“We’re confident in how they are handling everything at this time,” he said about the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA). “We have not launched our emergency operations centre at this time, so we’re not in a position where panic needs to happen. We just need people to remain calm and also just stay vigilant with fire bans and just making sure there is nothing that will spark anything fu
The non-mandatory evacuation was for priority groups including elderly residents, individuals with respiratory issues and young children, but was open for others who didn’t feel safe remaining. Lac La Ronge Indian Band includes Grandmother’s Bay, Morin Lake, La Ronge, Little Red River, Stanley Mission and Sucker River. Tammy Cook-Searson, Chief of the Band, said they’ve been in communication with Indigenous Services Canada, Red Cross, Prince Albert Grand Council and the Northern Inter-Tribal Health Authority. She said the majority of the evacuated population are staying in hotels in Prince Albert and La Ronge. La Ronge’s hotels are at full capacity.
144 people voluntarily evacuated from Grandmother's Bay due to smoke newsoptimist.ca - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from newsoptimist.ca Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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As of Thursday afternoon, 129 active fires were reported in the province. Twenty-five were not contained. There have been 369 so far. The province’s five-year average is 209.
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Try refreshing your browser. Saskatchewan topples five-year wildfire average by more than 150 Back to video
Speaking with reporters, Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency vice president of operations Steve Roberts said with hot, dry conditions expected to continue into next week, the agency is working to balance fighting large fires with mitigating new ones.
“We have a contingent of staff and helicopters available to initiate action on some of these new fires when they start and when they’re small, and we have been able to contain and put out a large number of fires,” he said, noting more than 200 have been extinguished so far.
Article content
As of Thursday afternoon, 129 active fires were reported in the province. Twenty-five were not contained. There have been 369 so far. The province’s five-year average is 209.
We apologize, but this video has failed to load.
Try refreshing your browser, or Saskatchewan topples five-year wildfire average by more than 150 Back to video
Speaking with reporters, Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency vice president of operations Steve Roberts said with hot, dry conditions expected to continue into next week, the agency is working to balance fighting large fires with mitigating new ones.
“We have a contingent of staff and helicopters available to initiate action on some of these new fires when they start and when they’re small, and we have been able to contain and put out a large number of fires,” he said, noting more than 200 have been extinguished so far.