PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – As a massive forest fire burns in northern Saskatchewan, the community of Fond-du-Lac has been partially evacuated.
Residents were forced to leave their homes behind on Saturday because of a 5,300 hectare fire burning south of the community across Lake Athabasca.
Black, heavy smoke took over the skyline increasing the risk of smoke inhalation for infants, seniors and those with respiratory conditions.
Approximately 200 high priority residents have been flown to Prince Albert until it is deemed safe by officials and community council members. They are staying at two Prince Albert hotels.
Some evacuees are now frustrated it wasn’t dealt with sooner.
“To me, this thing should’ve been avoidable, but I mean when the government talks about ‘let it burn’ policy, it was supposed to be 25 kilometres, but it was burning less than 12 kilometres right from Fond-du-Lac, right from day one,” said Nepoleon Mercredi, former Fond-du-Lac chief.
The Ministry of Environment says the blaze was started a number of weeks ago by lightning and just became aggressive with the winds in the last week or so.
“We have been managing this fire for a number of weeks with our crews, and looking after all the values on the south side of the fire. It only became aggressively active due to weather conditions in the last week or so,” said Steve Roberts, executive director of wildfire management program.
Ground personnel, helicopters with buckets and air tankers are currently fighting the blaze.
The province says there are currently no plans to evacuate the rest of the community, but if the threat worsens, a total evacuation will be in order.
“Smoke conditions in some communities may worsen, we are watching the weather conditions over the next couple of days. There’s some possibility that smoke may clear in Fond-du-Lac, but with those changing winds, it may cause difficulty in other communities,” said Duane McKay, Saskatchewan commissioner of emergency management.
Officials will continue to monitor the fire over the next week.
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