Evacuations now ordered for La Ronge, Air Ronge and Lac La Ronge Indian Band

CTV Regina: An evacuation order has been issued for La Ronge, Air Ronge and the Lac La Ronge Indian Band as wildfires continue to worsen.

An evacuation order has now been issued for La Ronge, Air Ronge and Lac La Ronge Indian Band as the wildfire situation in northern Saskatchewan continues to deteriorate.

The alert was issued at around 4:30 p.m. Monday, advising residents to begin evacuating immediately.

Residents that can self-evacuate and can find their own accommodations must use Highway 2 and register with the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) or at the Days Inn in Prince Albert.

Those requiring transportation must proceed to the JRMCC Centre in La Ronge.

In an update just after 6 p.m., the evacuation was expanded to include anyone within a 20 kilometre radius of La Ronge.

According to the alert, a fast moving wildfire has breached the area’s airport.

Ten communities were added to the list of active evacuations Monday – bringing the total for this year’s fire season to 36.

The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) says it is working with the Canadian Red Cross and community partners to evacuate more than 45 acute care patients and long-term care residents from the La Ronge Health Centre and care homes in the community.

The combined population of La Ronge and Air Ronge totals more than 4,000 - this adds to the approximately 8,000 residents who have already been evacuated due to the worsening wildfire situation.

-This is a breaking news update. The previous story can be found below.

Four communities north of La Ronge are being ordered to evacuate immediately due to a fast-moving wildfire.

Provincial alerts issued around 11:30 a.m. ordered residents to evacuate from Wadin Bay, English Bay, the Nemeiben Subdivision and the Sucker River Indian Reserve — four communities located less than 20 minutes north of La Ronge.

“The wildfire is fast moving and individuals … must start evacuation immediately,” the alerts say.

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Residents of the Sucker River Indian Reserve are instructed to go to the band hall if they require transportation, and to bring only one small bag of personal belongings.

Residents of the other three communities that require transportation should contact Northern Municipal Services.

“Individuals that can self-evacuate and find their own accommodations must use Highway 102 and proceed to JRMCC Centre in La Ronge and register.”

No pets are allowed on the buses or in the shelters, the alerts say.

Lac La Ronge Indian Band Chief Tammy Cook-Searson posted a notice about the Sucker River evacuation order on Facebook Monday morning. Sucker River is one of multiple reserves under the Lac La Ronge band.

“We will make arrangements asap for buses, gas for vehicles and will work with RedCross on accommodations. JRMCC will be the meeting place for Sucker River,” she said.

Cook-Searson said residents of the La Ronge Tri Community — La Ronge, Air Ronge and Lac La Ronge Indian Band — and Stanley Mission are also on standby notice, as the uncontained “Pisew” fire is just 16 kilometres away from La Ronge, and that could compromise the road to Stanley Mission, to the east.

As evacuees arrived from further north just before 2 p.m. Monday, a provincial alert went out to La Ronge-area residents confirming they should be prepare to make a quick exit.

“Residents are advised to stay alert and begin planning for potential evacuation,” the advisory says.

The three neighbouring communities were instructed to pack their bags, make sure their vehicles are ready for travel, and to organize accommodations if possible.

Further south, the uncontained Ditch02 fire burns along Highway 2 between Weyakwin Lake and Montreal Lake.

Highway 2 is the main road into La Ronge from the south, meaning buses full of evacuees could soon be threading the needle between two out-of-control forest fires — Ditch02 and Shoe — driving down back roads to get to safety.

The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) says there are currently 16 active wildfires burning in the province.

Saskatchewan’s largest wildfire now 18 times the size of Saskatoon

During an update Monday afternoon the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) says the “Shoe” fire east of Candle Lake has now grown to 407,000 hectares, which translates to about 18 times the size of Saskatoon.

The Shoe fire remains the largest of the 16 wildfires currently burning in the province.

According to Steve Roberts, the SPSA’s vice president of operations, six of the fires are currently considered not contained Monday and one fire has crews focusing strictly on protecting values that are being threatened by flames.

In the update Roberts said the large “Shoe” fire has forced the closure of parts of Highway 165 and has led to the evacuations of East Trout Lake, Little Bear, Whelan Bay, Lower Fishing Lakes and the closure of Narrow Hills Provincial Park.

As of Sunday, total evacuations from wildfires in Saskatchewan surpassed 8,000.

The Pisew fire, responsible for the ordered evacuations of Wadin bay, English Bay, the Nemeiben Subdivision and the Sucker River Indian Reserve Monday morning, has now grown to 83,000 hectares.

In an update just after 2 p.m., the Lac La Ronge Indian Band ordered the evacuation of Hall Lake, Clam Crossing and Sikachu as the Pisew fire continues to grow.

A total of 27 communities are now considered under active evacuation orders.

Roberts says so far this year there has been 219 wildfires in the province, the five-year average for this time of year is 131. In 2024, there was 172 wildfires by June 2.

Premier Scott Moe declared a provincial state of emergency on May 29 that was put into effect for 30 days and can be extended if necessary.