Red Earth, Shoal Lake evacuees heading home after wildfire smoke forced them away

Hundreds of individuals from Shoal Lake Cree Nation and Red Earth Cree Nation are going home after multiple wildfires forced them to evacuate.

Poor visibility and increased risk of health issues from smoke entering the communities forced them to travel to Prince Albert, Saskatoon, Nipawin and other cities for around two weeks.

However, Red Earth members started returning home on Sunday and Shoal Lake on Monday after it was determined the air quality in the communities was finally good enough for them to stay there.

“The duration of the evacuation was way too long but … they’re finally happy to go back home,” said Marcel Head, chief of Shoal Lake Cree Nation.

During a media conference last week, Head claimed a better response on the wildfires could have allowed them to avoid evacuating or, at least, cut down on the number of days they needed to stay away.

Shoal Lake is expecting to have nearly all its members back by Wednesday.

Buses have already been picking up individuals from different hotels in different communities.

Before jumping on the bus, Vera Young spoke with paNOW and claimed the last two weeks for many were filled with concern and anxiety.

“(They’re) thinking mostly about their homes and their pets and the people that were left behind to look after their community,” Young said.

Rapid COVID-19 tests were given to all individuals from both communities. They were provided by the Canadian Red Cross and Prince Albert Grand Council.

Head said that was important to ensure they didn’t have another emergency to deal with.

“Just to make sure we’re following protocol … so we don’t end up with a pandemic back home,” he said.

It will still be a long process before these individuals can return to a sense of normalcy.

Fabian Head, the chief of Red Earth, claims many of the homes need to be cleaned up after suffering from smoke damage and people being gone for multiple weeks.

“Wash the walls, wash the floors, wash the clothes, not to mention food spoiling, various products spoiling,” Head said.

Marcel Head noted many of his members will have to replace their doors and windows due to smoke damage and the fact that most of the smoke that entered the homes went through them.

— With files from paNOW’s Nigel Maxwell

Jaryn Vecchio, paNOW