A picture taken on Aug. 20 of the fire outside Sandy Bay. (Facebook)

By Nigel Maxwell

Wildfire response

Sandy Bay evacuation continues as two-week-old wildfire continues to burn

Aug 27, 2024 | 1:00 PM

Nearly two weeks after a lightning strike sparked a massive fire in northeastern Saskatchewan, over 1,400 members of a nearby Indigenous community remain evacuated.

According to Monday’s update from Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation, the majority of the youth and adults from Sandy Bay remain spread out amongst hotels in Prince Albert and Saskatoon. Caroline Bear, 73, is an elder from Sandy Bear and told paNOW she can’t wait to go home.

“I’ve got enough to get by, like everything is taken care of. All I can say is I’m glad I have a roof, a bed and a meal,” she said.

The fire near the community remains uncontained and continues to burn. The evacuation alert remains in place.

The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency advised that while the fire is burning away from the community, it remains volatile and poses a significant risk.There is no rain in the forecast until at least Thursday.

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Meanwhile Bear’s children and grandchildren are staying at a separate hotel in Saskatoon, and Bear acknowledged that while she talks to them everyday, she still worries about them.

“I don’t know when we are going home. At least I pray everyday I have a home to go home to,” Bear said.

Earlier this month, due to wildfire smoke, over 100 residents of Deschambault Lake made the voluntary decision to leave their community.

On Monday, the regional air quality advisory was rescinded.

The medical health officer for the Northern Intertribal Health Authority has provided a letter, supporting the return of P1 and P2 community members.

Plans are underway to support this repatriation and community members can expect to be contacted.

As of Tuesday, there were 69 active wildfires in the province, and 11 are not contained.

So far this year there’s been 530 fires, which compares to the five-year average of 347.

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nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @nigelmaxwell