Of the 118 active fires in Saskatchewan, 54 of them were continuing to burn in the La Ronge area as of Thursday, July 9.
An estimated 8,000 Saskatchewan residents had been evacuated from their homes – including an estimated 200 from Deschambault Lake.
Smoke from a fire burning in the Vance Lake area forced about 200 Deschambault Lake residents to evacuate who were at high risk for smoke exposure due to health reasons.
The smoke from the fire, reported to be within a few kilometres from the community, posed more risk to residents than the fire itself.
“It’s creating more of a smoke hazard than a direct fire risk,” said Duane McKay with the Ministry of Environment. “When the wind shifted about 200 people [were] evacuated.”
Mike Grundmann, owner of the Deschambault Lake Resort on Hanson Lake Road, said word of the evacuation notice was more intimidating than reality.
“I know La Ronge is bad…but I’m not worried here at all,” Gundmann told The Reminder Wednesday afternoon. “Our smoke is annoying, but we’re not as dry as BC or even other parts of the province.”
Well over 1,500 volunteers and military personnel have worked to keep the fire line as far from the communities as possible.
In the La Ronge area, the fire line was reported to be about 1.5 km from the community.
Steven Roberts, executive director of Wild Fire Management in Saskatchewan, told The Reminder that while the fires burning are creating smoke, Creighton and
Flin Flon are not currently at risk.
“The eastern side of the province is actually the quietest side,” said Roberts. “There are a few scattered fires, but nothing compared to the rest. Nothing that is posing a threat to the border.”
