State of emergency: Over 4,000 evacuated as wildfires threaten Northern Saskatchewan communities

Northern Saskatchewan is in the grip of an intense and rapidly escalating wildfire crisis, forcing at least 4,000 residents to flee their homes and communities. The most severe impact is felt in the northern village of Pelican Narrows, where flames edge dangerously close to residential areas, threatening both homes and vital road access.

Pelican Narrows, about 400 kilometres northeast of Prince Albert, has seen approximately 2,000 residents evacuated, with another 2,000 ordered to leave immediately.

The Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation declared a state of emergency on Tuesday, May 28, as the fire situation worsened. Many evacuees are being transported by bus to safety in Prince Albert, Saskatoon, and Flin Flon, while those driving receive fuel assistance.

Also Read: Wildfire forces mass evacuation of Pelican Narrows

Cherish Morin, a Pelican Narrows resident who reached Saskatoon early Tuesday, described the overwhelming stress of evacuation. "There's lots of people at the gas station gassing up. Everyone was in the panic mood," she told CBC News. Forced to detour after Highway 106 closed, Morin and her partner arrived in Saskatoon at 2 a.m. only to find themselves scrambling to find hotel rooms.

Morin’s concerns extend beyond her own safety; she worries for the community members, including her grandfather, who chose to stay behind as security. "I'm very stressed out about the whole situation," she said. "I just hope like they can get the fire under control and then we can go home."

The fires have not only upended lives in Pelican Narrows. Several other northern communities are grappling with evacuation orders or warnings. For instance, more than 380 residents from Hall Lake were evacuated on Monday, May 27, and Canoe Lake leaders moved about 500 people to safety in neighbouring Alberta towns.

In Manitoba, the nearby city of Flin Flon has issued pre-evacuation notices and begun moving high-acuity patients from its hospital due to advancing flames crossing provincial borders.

Steve Roberts, Vice-President of Operations at the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA), described this wildfire season as historic in both scale and intensity. "We have not seen a fire season with as much impact and activity in the last couple of decades," Roberts said, emphasizing that nearly every wildfire this year was caused by human activity.

Currently, there are 17 active wildfires in Saskatchewan, with ten still uncontained. The largest fire in the province is a merger of two blazes in Narrow Hills Provincial Park, now threatening multiple communities and prompting evacuation alerts for Candle Lake and others.

Smoke and closures have added to the disruption. Highway 106, a major route in the region, is closed, forcing detours and complicating evacuation efforts. The City of Saskatoon has responded by closing the Cosmo Civic Centre to the public and designating it as an evacuation site, with costs to be covered by the Canadian Red Cross.

Authorities have also urged the public to avoid flying drones near fires, as one grounded water bomber aircraft was unable to operate because of unauthorised drone flights.