Fire-fighters are holding their own in their battle to prevent a huge blaze from entering La Ronge. The town is deserted except for fire crews and a few dozen people deemed as essential.
Amoung them, four workers at MBC radio, keeping the station on the air and keeping thousands of evacuees up to date on what is going on in their home communities.
Soldiers from Edmonton and Shilo Manitoba are joining the front lines over the next couple of days. The weather has also given crews a bit of a break, allowing more planes and helicopters to take flight.
There was trace of rain overnight, but not enough to make a difference in the extremely dry conditions. The executive director of wildfire management , Steve Roberts, says additional volunteers may be brought in to help fight the fires. He says they are not needed now, but they may be required in the future.
“Members of our First Nations communities have come forward.” He says. “ They are seeking training through their own organizations like the Prince Albert Grand Council which is looking at training some of their own personnel.”
Anywhere from a thousand to 14 hundred soldiers will be part of the fire fighting effort. Their main focus is preventing structure damage in the community of La Ronge. The commissioner of emergency management, Duane McKay , describes the situation as dire but says the addition of military personnel should help bring it under control.
“In Prince Albert now, we have approximately 450 soldiers on the ground.” He says. “ They are currently taking training and their deployment should take place in the next twenty four hours or so.”
The emergency services manager with the social services department, Karri Kempf, says communities and first nations leaders are pulling together to help the evacuees. More than 7 thousand of them have registered with the department and are being housed in North Battleford, Prince Albert, Saskatoon, Regina and Cold Alberta.
“Evacuees are reporting that host communities are being wonderful to them,” She says. “ They are really pleased with the care they are receiving and a very grateful that people were able to take them.”
The fires have taken a big toll already. The fire protection budget has been wiped out, homes and cabins have been lost and up to 13 thousand people have been displaced in the largest evacuation effort in the provinces history. A full damage assessment won’t be known until the fires are out.
There are currently 113 fires burning in the province. 24 are listed as out of control, including a 600 square kilometer blaze on the outskirts of La Ronge. In all about 400 thousand hectares of forest has burned this year, about 10 times the average.
Meanwhile, the fires have disrupted the shipment of supplies to some far north grocery stores. The owner of Scott’s General Store in Stony Rapids says there is no immediate supply shortage, but there may be after this week. Scott Hale says a truck shipment did come in on Friday. He does say if they are unable to get a truck for their next shipment they would aim to fly the supplies in.
Mail pick-up is being arranged in Prince Albert for evacuees from the Air Ronge, Town La Ronge and Lac La Ronge Indian Band. Mail destined for those communities will be held at the Canada Post depot in Prince Albert on Marquis Road, across from the Prince Albert Inn. People will have to show a government-issued ID with photo. Canada Post must be certain of identities and maintain people’s privacy.