By Alec Salloum

Armed Forces to assist Saskatchewan with wildfires

Jul 6, 2015 | 7:39 AM

On Saturday a mandatory evacuation was ordered for the Lac La Ronge area with 1,136 people being taken out of town and several thousand evacuating on their own.

In the wake of these recent fires and evacuations, the province has put in a request to receive assistance and additional personnel from the military and has called for greater federal commitment.

This comes after the declaration of a state of emergency in northern Saskatchewan.

In a statement from Duane McKay, executive director from emergency management and fire safety, the military will is sending survey teams in the next 12 to 24 hours with the deployment of 1,000 personnel happening shortly after.

Water bombers are still being kept on the ground due to the smoke. Over 660 firefighters are on the ground with 64 supporting aircraft, which will fly out of Prince Albert, Meadow Lake and La Ronge when smoke clears up. Firefighters are coming from all over the province, with more than 40 fire departments on standby.

Leadership Needed to Stop Federal Overreach

22m ago

Vise grip driver

Vise grips not a steering wheel: RCMP

17h ago

Patient supports

'Misuse' of free parking passes attributed to cancellation: SHA

19h ago

As of Sunday there are 385 evacuees in North Battleford, 2,293 Prince Albert, 1,799 in Saskatoon, and 1,221 in Regina. This does not include evacuees from La Ronge area.

These displaced people come from over 50 communities in the north which have been partially to fully evacuated.

There are currently 110 fires in the province with12 new ones since Saturday, and six man-made fires in Hall Lake.

We’ve already seen more than 10 times the annual average for land burnt by the fires in the province. In the past five years we averaged 33,000 hectares.

With files from Alex Soloducha

panews@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @AlecJSalloum