Fire map. Photo courtesy of Government of Saskatchewan.
Another small northern Saskatchewan community has been evacuated due to wildfires.
An evacuation order was issued Monday night for the northern community of Tyrell Lake. The small recreational subdivision is along Highway 106, where the very large Granite Fire has been burning.
Late Monday night, the fire became a direct threat to both the community and road access as the highway was temporarily closed.
Officials say approximately 20 residents of the area fled to stay with friends and family while one couple has been housed in Creighton.
Dianna Valentine is the coordinator of emergency social service, she says this brings the current total of evacuees up to nearly 2,800.
“We are making sure their needs are met, we are ensuring there are daily activities and we are just waiting for when we get the call that they can return home,” said Valentine.
She says evacuees have been moving in between Saskatoon and Prince Albert, which makes it difficult to gather official numbers. At last estimate, Valentine says there are 807 evacuees in Saskatoon and 1,990 in Prince Albert.
At last report, the fires are expected to be burning for a long time, and it will be up to Chief Peter Beatty of the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation to make the final decision as to when everyone can return home.
“We are not making any recommendation at this time, but we are in communication with the community, and we are letting them know what we are seeing,” said Deputy Fire Commissioner Ray Unrau. “When we are all on the same page in the form of next steps, we will be ready to take those actions.”
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Highways says they will be conducting convoys along Highway 106 to bring people into Creighton when it is safe to do so.
However, officials say there could be significant wait times.