Northern Sask. community of Patuanak declares state of emergency due to wildfires
Another community in northern Saskatchewan has declared a state of emergency from wildfires.
On Wednesday, officials with the community of Patuanak were telling residents to evacuate.
Since the highway is closed to the community, evacuees will have to be flown to Buffalo Narrows and then bused to Lloydminster.
Meanwhile, the province has issued another fire ban for parts of northern Saskatchewan as the fire risk remains extreme.
The ban issued by the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) will be in effect as of Thursday at 8 a.m. and spans the area north of the provincial forest boundary up to the Churchill River.
It prohibits any open fires, controlled burns, and fireworks.
The ban does not include ATV or UTV restrictions.
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CBC
2 hours ago
- CBC
'We need to get our people in hotels,' says Garden Hill vice-chief as 1,000 evacuees to arrive Saturday
Social Sharing Garden Hill Anisininew Nation leaders are calling on all levels of government to help secure hotel rooms for hundreds of wildfire evacuees as a congregate shelter in Winnipeg became crowded on Saturday and northern Manitoba wildfires threatened their homes and the health of those still waiting to get out. Garden Hill's Vice-Chief Craig Munroe says 1,800 people have been moved to Winnipeg since the remote First Nation issued a mandatory evacuation order on Thursday — the same day the province declared another state of emergency due to wildfires. "It's sad because we are being displaced from our homes and we're being moved to the city. We do not want to be here, but we have to do what we have to do for the safety of our people," Munroe said. Another 1,000 Garden Hill evacuees were expected to arrive on Saturday, with the help of Hercules military aircraft from the Canadian Armed Forces. More than 4,000 people live in the remote, fly-in First Nation in northeastern Manitoba. Charles Knott, who left the First Nation with his wife about two weeks ago due to medical concerns from the wildfire smoke, said they were able to find a hotel room. But he's been running supplies to the congregate shelter on Leila Avenue, where his grandchildren are staying until rooms become available. "They're still there waiting for a room. That's the thing, they can't find any rooms because it's all booked everywhere," Knott said outside the Winnipeg hotel he's been staying at. He said it's sad to see so many of his community members crowded together in the Garden City soccer complex, sleeping on cots in the open. "It was just chaos, people just lining up, waiting," he said, adding that children and youth are getting restless while waiting to find out where they will be sent next. "I'm just trying to help my community out, whatever I can. There's a lot of people that need help here," Knott said. A donation centre has been set up on Arlington Street, where the First Nation is collecting necessities like baby formula and diapers for infants being evacuated. Vice-Chief Munroe said Garden Hill has set up a command centre at a Winnipeg hotel and community leaders are working to move their most vulnerable residents, particularly Elders and children, from the Leila shelter into hotel rooms. "I want to urge all governments to continue to try and help us because these complexes, they're not ideal for our people. I've heard reports, even yesterday, that people could not sleep on these cots, it was loud," he said. "We need to get our people in hotels, we need to get our kids, our youth in hotels." Fire threatens to corner First Nation on remote peninsula Garden Hill is a remote fly-in community about 475 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg, situated on a triangular peninsula on Island Lake. Munroe said the fire has been spreading rapidly, threatening to encircle the First Nation. "It's coming so close to our houses and it's creeping into our community," he said. "I'm praying that it will not wrap around our whole community." The wildfire burning near Garden Hill is about 2,500 hectares in size and is out of control, the province said in its most recent fire bulletin on Friday. Garden Hill evacuee Timothy Barkman, who has been staying at a Winnipeg hotel with his family for the past three days, said he's worried about the place he's called home for the last 15 years. "The main thing I'm worried about is my house because … they say the fire is coming that way to our community," he said. Knott said he's seen pictures and videos of wildfire smoke getting thicker around the community. Wildfire menaces Garden Hill Anisininew Nation in northern Manitoba 2 days ago Duration 0:19 Video provided by Russell Wood, a councillor at Garden Hill Anisininew Nation in northeastern Manitoba, shows a wall of flames leaping out of the forest on the afternoon of Wednesday, July 9, 2025. The First Nation on Island Lake issued a mandatory evacuation order the next day. The smoke was so thick on Saturday morning that the Hercules military plane couldn't land at Garden Hill's airstrip, according to Munroe. "We are cornered by the looks of it. The fire is behind our home," Knott said. "If the wind blows from the north, it will go straight to our community." Munroe said 1,200 frontline workers — including local firefighters, emergency personnel and council members — will be left in the community after Saturday's evacuation efforts. But those left behind are falling ill, Munroe said. Council is asking all levels of government for more help fighting the fires. "Our frontline workers who are on the ground are getting sick because of the heavy smoke and they're starting to get lung infections," he said. "We need more ground support in Garden Hill."
CTV News
3 hours ago
- CTV News
Some football fans disappointed, others make the most of postponed Rider game
Fans line up at Mosaic Stadium to catch the matchup between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Calgary Stampeders. (Damian Smith / CTV News) With the air quality too poor for the matchup between the Riders and the Stampeders to continue Friday night, some football fans were left disappointed, with others trying to make the most of it. Earlier in the day, the Riders had anticipated a clear evening and that the game would go as scheduled. 'The guidance we had tonight was that it was going to clear,' Roughriders' CEO Craig Reynolds said on Friday. 'Right around game time or right before game time, the smoke was coming from the west. It cleared in Moose Jaw, which was for us, the signal that it was going to clear in Regina.' However, as the day went on, the air quality health index reached a 10, which is considered an extreme risk to the public. The Riders held onto hope to play the game, with hopes of even starting the match at 11:15 p.m. Unfortunately, the smoke was too much of a risk for the players and the fans, so the game was postponed to Saturday. 'When kickoff was supposed to happen last night, it would have been the equivalent of, over three hours, smoking one to two cigarettes,' said Chris Pascoe, an associate professor at the University of Manitoba. 'If you were exposed for the whole day at that level, it would be the equivalent of roughly eight cigarettes.' Some fans were able to find a positive spin in an unfortunate evening. 'They're great rivals and they're great fans,' said Jason Baillie, a Stampeder fan visiting from Calgary. 'We just kind of chopped it up with some of the Riders' fans, met some people and hung out.' 'Generating those conversations with the opposing team's fans, that was the positive that we can shed the light on is having those conversations and camaraderie with the fans here,' said Brendan Toft, who made the trip with Baillie. Some home fans were not so lucky, with an entire family unable to stay another day in Regina. 'My sister had other plans for today, so she's just left to go back to saskatoon,' said Mathew Clark, a Riders' fan. 'My parents also went back out to the lake.' Many fans had this game marked on their calendars, with both teams having successful years in the West Division. The game started at 2 p.m. on Saturday, ending in a 24-10 win for the Stampeders, who now tie the Riders for first in the league, both with records of 4-1. -With files from Allison Bamford
CBC
3 hours ago
- CBC
'As a farmer, it's depressing': Southwest Sask. sees less than 25% of normal rainfall in June
Several farmers in southwestern Saskatchewan say their crops are withering and dying before their eyes. In the rural municipality of Big Stick, there was a "half inch" of rain for the whole month, said Reeve Quinton Jacksteit, a longtime grain farmer. "As a farmer, it's depressing to go out into the hot, hot, windy days and then watch your crops deteriorate," he said. "There's really not a lot of optimism." His RM is among at least four others in the area — namely, the RMs of Maple Creek, Fox Valley, Enterprise and Waverley — that have declared states of emergency due to drought. Data from the latest national drought report confirms what farmers there already knew: the drought in southwest Saskatchewan got much worse last month. The region saw less than 25 per cent of normal rainfall, according to the report. The Canadian Drought Monitor — which is the official source for monitoring and reporting drought nationally — now classifies some areas of southwest Saskatchewan as experiencing extreme drought conditions. Extreme drought is the second-most-severe classification on the agency's five-category scale and represents a one in 20 year event. From May to June, some areas of southwest Saskatchewan saw a "three-class jump" on the drought monitor's scale up to the extreme drought classification. Swift Current recorded its 11th driest June on record, according to the report. Jacksteit said if they don't receive "any kind of substantial moisture before seeding next year," he's not sure what they're going to do. 9th consecutive year of drought Like Jacksteit, Kelly Bakanec, a fellow grain farmer and reeve of the neighbouring RM of Fox Valley, said he has watched his crops deteriorate this season. "I like to drive around and check crops every night. And every day, the crop is going backwards," said Bakanec of his farm, which has been in his family since 1912. "If we don't get any rain in the next week or two, it's just going to burn up to nothing. We probably won't even take the combines out." WATCH | Severe Saskatchewan drought threatens crops, livestock: Severe Saskatchewan drought threatens crops, livestock 5 days ago Duration 2:00 Bakanec said he knew this year's drought would be bad right after seeding for the season. It's especially disheartening, because he said this is the ninth consecutive year of drought in the area. The current crop insurance programs were never developed for long-term droughts, let alone for nine years in a row, he said. 'Cannot sustain those kinds of losses' Without decent crops and with crop insurance programs "not doing what they're supposed to do anymore," Bakanec said the majority of farmers he knows work second jobs to supplement their farms. Bakanec has an additional job in the excavating business and all three of his sons also work off the farm. "Farmers are fighters," he said. "We'll make it work, but we're breaking our backs trying to do it." In the RM of Big Stick, Jacksteit said there will be big financial losses this year and that farms could lose between $50 to $100 per acre. Some likely won't be able to afford to farm after this year, he said. "We've been saying this is coming, because you cannot sustain those kinds of losses and continue," said Jacksteit. "There's probably farms that are going to have banks knocking on their doors."
