By Glenn Hicks

Wildfire evacuee numbers for P.A. unclear

Aug 30, 2017 | 3:49 PM

It remains unclear how many evacuees from the wildfires burning in the Pelican Narrows area will come to Prince Albert.

That’s mainly because of the restricted access on the highway and uncertainty about how many people will want to leave. Officials will escort drivers on Highway 106 and Highway 135 in the late evening and early morning only.

An evacuation order is in place as of Wednesday. Officials said 3,000 people were still in the affected community. However, they said those who ask for assistance would be escorted out.

Around 700 people had arrived in Saskatoon but Deanna Valentine with Emergency Social Services could not say how many would be seeking shelter in Prince Albert. She said only a dozen had arrived in P.A. hotels as of Tuesday.

“We are anticipating that if a number of those people are able to come through the highway with escort then they will be received in Prince Albert and those numbers will go up significantly,” Valentine said.

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With the evacuations happening very late in the fire season, the usual reception centres earmarked for emergencies are not available.

“Most of the congregate facilities we use are schools or educational facilities, and with schools going back [next week] they need those,” Valentine said.

She figured there would be no need for a special reception centre in P.A.

“From what we’ve been able to survey with the various hotels, there should be enough capacity between P.A. and Saskatoon,” Valentine said.

Evacuees who decide to register through Emergency Social Services receive lodging, vouchers for meals, groceries, clothing and recreational costs such as activities for children.

Meanwhile the wildfire activity is not expected to wane in the short term.

Steve Roberts with the Ministry of Environment said almost all the provincial firefighting resources were focused on the Pelican Narrows region at the moment and suggested the fires were unlikely to ease up.

 “We expect with weather conditions such as wind changes and heavy unburned fuel loads we will continue to see aggressive fire activity around the clock and we do not see any huge reprieve from the weather perspective for at least a week.”

Glenn.Hicks@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @princealbertnow