Daily Herald
The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) declared the Late Fire under control on Wednesday, and that means some residents can start heading home.
The Meadow Lake Tribal Council (MLTC), who have been assisting wildfire evacuees from Turnor Lake and Birch Narrows Dene Nation (BNDN), have buses in Lloydminster and Cold Lake, Alta. to ferry people home.
The Late fire, initially reported July 10, remained out of control until Aug. 21, forcing the evacuation on Aug. 16, according to a statement from Métis Nation Saskatchewan.
Sixty-five high-risk residents of Turnor Lake had previously been evacuated to Cold Lake.
Meanwhile, the Flanagan Fire continues to burn. According to a Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation (PBCN) notice from the EOC in Sandy Bay dated for Wednesday, the fire northwest of the community has not been contained.The wildfire, “reportedly caused by lightening, has been deemed a wildfire of note by Saskatchewan.”
At that time the fire was burning away from the community, but “remains volatile and poses a significant threat,” according to the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA).
As of Thursday, Aug. 22, the Flanagan fire was closer to Sandy Bay, 2 to 2.5 kms from the community of Sandy Bay, and there is no sense of when evacuees will be able to return home, Duane Hiebert, Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation (PBCN) Emergency Management Director, said in an interview with the Daily Herald.
“Until the fire is brought under control or a lot more closer to being brought under control, we can’t determine (when they’ll return. The recommendation is made by Public Safety for the community members to come home. We can’t so we’re not even thinking about that yet,” Hiebert said.
While there was rain one night, it was very hit and miss.
“I’m not exactly sure how much they got on the fire itself. It previously had be spotty, one place lots of rain and other parts of the fire, nothing,” he said.
There are two fire that remain close to Deschambault Lake, both out of control, the Arm Fire and Lauder fire, which is north of Deschambault and is close to the Arm fire. It is farther away than the Arm fire, but it is large and there’s a lack of resources.
“They haven’t been able to put any manpower on that fire, so it’s being monitored. But, it’s burning in very mature timber, and so it does have the opportunity, should winds pick up and conditions right, it could pose a threat, not only to the community of Deschambault, but to traplines and cabins in the area,” Hieber said.
Any fire being monitored could be a threat, he said.
“Look at what happened at Jasper, it’s not a threat, they got everything, and then, all of a sudden, it’s in the community, so, that can happen with any fire,” Hiebert said.
The fire is only about one km away from the Island Falls hydro power dam, Hiebert said.
He said SPSA have not only been protecting the community of Sandy Bay, they are protecting the island Falls Damn and its transmission lines, Hiebert said.
“They brought in a heavy lift helicopter, which has a bucket of 800 gal. and they have the ability to apply gel. Gel was a long-term fire retardant, that they can apply to the power lines and power poles themselves,” he said.
The Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) continues to meet daily with input from all agencies involved in the operations, Hiebert said.
Supporting efforts to bring the Flanagan wildfire under control included helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft, including water bombers and heavy equipment.
The forecast for the area noted that “generally south-to southwest winds were expected for Wednesday and changing to northwest for Thursday with temperatures in the mid 20s for the next six days.
Precipitation was expected in the form of thunderstorms (60 per cent) and no rain forecast before Monday, Aug. 26.
Sandy Bay did receive 2mm of rainfall on the night of Wednesday, Tuesday, Aug. 20 according to the Sandy Bay Weather Station statistics. According to the Jan Lake Weather Station, 0.2 mm of rain and lightning was received around the community at the same time.
No road closures were reported at the time.
Also, as of Aug. 21, there were 416 households, 1,338 individuals and three active sites reported evacuated on Aug. 20.
According to the Canadian Red Cross (CRC), “registration numbers may fluctuate from Aug. 14 as reported under the Sandy Bay Engagement, on this report was Aug. 19 to Aug. 20, but the whole reporting period was Aug. 13, when the evacuation began to Aug. 20.
Four hundred and thirty-seven (436) were reported in various hotels in Prince albert and 764 in Saskatoon. According to the report the distance from Sandy Bay of the Flanagan fire is “undetermined due to prescribed burning,”
No evacuees had been authorized to return home, at that point and heavy smoke was expected to continue for the next 24-wt hours, but not “extreme sustained levels.”
No evacuations for the communities of Pelican Narrows and Deschambault Lake were in effect as a result of the Arm fire, which also remains out of control, as of Aug. 21.
People are reminded to keep their QR Code with them and to make sure to register with the CRC if they have not done so, which includes anyone staying with family and friends.
The Flannagan fire was 28,045 ha and the Arm fire, which has been affecting the communities of Deschambault Lake and Pelican Narrows was 23,323 ha as of Aug. 21.
Southend remains the smokiest of the PBCN communities.
“There are five fires around Southend, none are passing direct a direct threat to the community … there’s nothing close, but, as a result of the fires the community is smoked in regardless of the directions of the wind. They get smoke from one fire and the winds change; they get smoke from another fire. Southend, of all the PBCN communities, they are the smokiest on the average,” Hiebert said.
If people need further assistance they are asked to contact, Duane Hiebert PBCN Emergency Response Manager at 306-960-9376.
