The tri-communities of La Ronge, Air Ronge and the Lac La Ronge Indian Band are declaring a state of emergency due to power outages.
The communities have been without electricity since Monday afternoon due to a wildfire burning northeast of Prince Albert.
La Ronge passed its own stare of emergency motion at a special council meeting held Wednesday morning.
La Ronge Mayor Colin Ratushniak said the three community leaders spoke earlier in the day about the necessity of coordinating emergency efforts.
“Mayor Baschuk (Julie, Air Ronge mayor) and Chief Tammy Cook Searson (Lac La Ronge Indian Band) were also in support of declaring a state of emergency as a tri-community, but we do have to do it separately as well,” he said. “We’re just doing it in a coordinated effort.”
Ratushniak said one of the main reasons for the emergency declaration is so La Ronge can get the resources it needs during the power outage.
“It’s going to be based on (a) prolonged power outage, that our population is over 2,600, temperatures dipping below zero, and the struggle based on the health order (COVID-19 pandemic) still in place so that we can try to avoid the mixing of households as much as possible.”
Ratushniak said the last update they received from SaskPower was that work to restore power has begun but affected communities could still be looking at a 48-hour timeframe before electricity is fully restored.
To help residents, the town has set up a warm-up shelter in the Mel Hegland Uniplex.
However, because of COVID-19 restrictions, the space is only approved for around 40 cots.
In the morning meeting, La Ronge Councillor Hugh Watt said the town is looking at other measures so that residents who are in need of heat can access it.
Access to gasoline, propane and clean water doesn’t appear to be a major issue in La Ronge at present.
Also, according to Ratushniak, the Lake Country Co-op Marketplace grocery store in La Ronge is set to re-open Wednesday afternoon.
(PHOTO: A fire burning northeast of Prince Albert has left about 8,000 northern Saskatchewan residents without power. File photo.)