Buffalo Narrows issues mandatory evacuation as wildfire closes in

The wildfire situation in Saskatchewan is leading to more evacuations.

The village council in Buffalo Narrows held an emergency meeting late Monday and declared a mandatory evacuation for the entire community.

Mayor Sandy Ericson said in a Facebook post poor air quality due to the nearby wildfire and the loss of electricity indefinitely made it unsafe to stay.

“We are working with Saskatchewan Public Service Agency to try get the buses in and the convoy on the road as quickly as possible,” she wrote. “Please stay tuned and be patient as it is a process and we need to ensure people’s safety.”

The RCMP briefly opened Highway 155 between Buffalo Narrows and Île-à-la-Crosse early Tuesday to allow a convoy of vehicles through, including a bus of evacuees.

Ericson said evacuees are being taken to Regina and the next bus is scheduled to leave at noon.

Convoy of vehicles waiting on Highway 155 waiting to leave Buffalo Narrows (Noreen Rasmussen/Facebook)

The smoke became too much for Noreen Rasmussen, a social worker in Buffalo Narrows.

Rasmussen told 650 CKOM because of her health issues, she decided to pack up before the evacuation order and joined a large convoy of vehicles that waited for safe passage through the fire zone.

Buffalo Narrows residents joined people from the neighbouring communities of Dillon, St. George’s Hill and Michel Village who began evacuating Monday afternoon.

As of Tuesday at 7 a.m., there were 30 active wildfires in the province, including eight that weren’t contained.

The two fires causing the evacuations are both more than 25,000 hectares in size.

Buffalo Narrows and other communities lost their power due to the fires.

Due to extensive damage and safety concerns, SaskPower said the outage would likely continue until the end of day Tuesday.

The Crown utility said it will issue an update at noon.

On Tuesday morning, the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency urged people to avoid the area in and near Besnard Lake.

“The SPSA is asking residents to avoid the area as a fast-moving fire is burning with extreme fire intensity,” the agency said in a release. “With a single access route in and out of the area, there is an increased threat of entrapment.”

Both Saskatoon and Regina could begin seeing the affects of wildfires this week.

Terri Lang, a meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada, said a cold front is expected to move across the province late Tuesday into Wednesday that will spread smoke through central and southern regions.