Dryden, ON, Canada / CKDR Jul 14, 2021 | 3:45 PM The Red Lake Margaret Cochenour Memorial Hospital has started transferring inpatients, should the community have to be evacuated due to ongoing forest fires. So far five patients have been moved with some to Lake of the Woods Hospital in Kenora and some to Atikokan, with three patients set to leave the community Thursday. The Red Lake area continues to be threatened by Fire 77 and 16 and the hospital has enacted it’s fire plan as a precaution. “Our decision to start patient transfers now is driven by multiple factors, including continued forecasts of hot dry weather, concerning wind conditions, speed of fire movement, and the time required to move multiple patients by air from our remote community” says Sue LeBeau, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Red Lake Margaret Cochenour Memorial Hospital. “It can take a few days to locate beds and secure transportation. We are taking the time we have to plan the safest transfers possible for our patients”.