Southend evacuation order lifted, hundreds return home

Hundreds of people forced to leave Southend last week because of a threatening wildfire are heading home.

A general evacuation order was lifted on Tuesday, opening the way for 893 registered evacuees to return as provincial officials saw satisfying progress in battling the 9,320-hectare Woods fire.

Provincial emergency social services staff are co-ordinating buses from Prince Albert and Saskatoon for those who didn’t travel in their own vehicles.

An emergency clean-air shelter is being outfitted with “air scrubbers” and cots in case smoke becomes a problem.

People with health concerns are asked to stay away until the blaze is further diminished.

Prince Albert received 579 evacuees; Saskatoon received 68, and LaRonge had 28. About 300 people chose to go to camps on the lake, said co-ordinator Deanna Valentine.

“The Woods fire hasn’t grown in the past several days. We’re actively working on the west, northern and eastern flanks to hold it from spreading toward the communities of Southend and west toward Brabant,” said Scott Wasylenchuk, director of wildfire operations with the environment ministry.

“The threat to Southend is low right now, as well as the road access to the community,” said Government Relations spokesman Jay Teneycke.

Another “fairly large,” 7,900 hectare blaze is still burning near the McArthur mine, where staff are working with provincial ground crews and aircraft to protect the mine.

Rain in the forecast has officials expecting to make good progress in the next several days, Wasylenchuk said.

A cluster of fires southwest of Lac La Loche got quite a bit of rain Monday evening, removing any threat to the community. Wasylenchuk said provincial crews would move into the area on Tuesday.

Lightening caused 13 new starts on Monday and Tuesday, bringing the total new fires to 63 in the past five days. The province has recorded 300 fires to date this year. The five-year average for this date is 232.

Scattered rain has helped crews get on top of the fires, Wasylenchuk said.

Ten fires are not contained, but they are not threatening communities.