The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency say thousands of people have been evacuated due to the wildfires.
With evacuees spread across the province, the Queen City is stepping up to provide additional space for those immediately impacted.
According to City of Regina officials, on Monday the city was supporting 55 evacuees, but that number jumped to over 700 on Tuesday.
“Communities are stepping up to accept folks that are being displaced from their homes. People are fearful of their homes burning down,” said Regina Mayor Chad Bachynski.
“It’s sad, it’s devastating but at the end of the day, Regina is positioned to help and that’s exactly what we’re going to do.”
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It resulted in the late-night request to the REAL District from the Canadian Red Cross to open their facility to evacuees, which was met with quick action.
“In speaking with Red Cross last night, they said that the hotels in Saskatoon and Regina and elsewhere are filling up. So honestly, they’re looking for space and we have some,” explained interim REAL CEO, Trent Fraser.
“We had our staff working last night to clear out some space in the Avana Centre and we’ll be hosting probably later on today anywhere from three to 500 evacuees,” added Fraser.
Red Cross has also been in close contact with the University of Regina to fill empty dorms, with the U of R confirming more than 50 evacuees staying on campus.
The university shared with Global News in a statement, “The University of Regina is working with the Canadian Red Cross to provide food and accommodations to evacuees from Northern Saskatchewan impacted by the wildfires. We are working to ensure the campus is a welcoming, comfortable place for them during their time here.”
The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency is reminding people to call the toll-free wildfire hotline at 1-855-559-5502 for questions about the current wildfire situation in Saskatchewan.
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