Arjun Pillai
Daily Herald
After nearly ten days away, residents of La Ronge are back home and working to restore routine, following a fast-moving wildfire evacuation earlier this month.
Lyle Hannan, Chief Administrative Officer for the town, said most essential services have resumed, with grocery stores, gas stations, and restaurants now operating at regular hours.
“It was approximately 10 days,” Hannan said, noting the majority returned on June 12. “Some people self-evacuated, so it’s hard to say exactly when everyone came back, but the buses returned that weekend.”
Although La Ronge did not suffer structural damage from the fire, the emotional toll has been significant.
“Even those that didn’t have any physical loss, just the process of being displaced for that long, not knowing what they would come home to, and then looking around the region, it’s tough,” said Hannan. “But there’s a lot of perseverance.”
The town is now helping residents verify their identification so that they can receive provincial assistance payments. On June 11, Premier Scott Moe announced all evacuees aged 18 and over will receive a $500 provincial grant, delivered through community channels within the evacuation zones. The one-time payment is intended to help evacuees with the costs of returning home, such as food, fuel, and cleanup supplies. The announcement followed public concerns about earlier support delays and gaps in eligibility during evacuation periods.
Much of the logistical support during the evacuation was coordinated by the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency and the Red Cross.
At the height of the emergency, 53 residents and patients from the La Ronge Health Centre and local care homes were also safely evacuated by ambulance and airlife. Fire departments from Prince Albert, St. Louis, Buckland, and other neighbouring areas were deployed to La Ronge under SPSA coordination, helping local crews with structure protection and fire containment efforts.
“There wasn’t a lot of warning,” Hannan said. “We went from things looking okay to, you know, a fire moving at 80 kilometres an hour, just ripping through the North.”
Crews rotated through La Ronge until June 11, many working 16 to 20 hour days in difficult conditions.
Returning residents are now dealing with the aftereffects: cleaning fridges, cleaning yards, and hauling waste to the landfill. Hannan described it as a “different level of recovery,” with people shifting from crisis mode to re-establishing daily routines.
“It’s a busy time. A lot of people are just getting back into the swing of things with their employers,” Hannan said.
Although some organizations and individuals are still adjusting, Hannan said most people are now focused on recovery and moving forward.
This wildfire season is already among the most destructive in Canada in recent memory, second only to 2023 in terms of area burned. La Ronge’s experience underscores the increasing need for communities to prepare for fast-moving fire threats.
Hannan said town officials plan to conduct a debrief in the coming weeks to improve future response plans.
Though he couldn’t speak for every individual’s experience, Hannan said the sense of community support has remained strong.
“Some people are struggling financially, some emotionally. But people are rallying around them.”
When asked what stood out most during the crisis, Hannan pointed to the firefighters.
“Crews came in from around the province, working 16 to 20 hour days to keep the fires from breaching the community. Their dedication and selflessness, it was pretty amazing.”
To those in other communities still under threat, Hannan offered a message of solidarity.
“If there’s anything we can do to help, we will. The North is a strong region, and we tend to band together.”
