Sandy Bay residents face aerial evacuations; 100 gone already

Sandy Bay, a community of roughly 2,000 people north of Pelican Narrows, has avoided wildfire evacuations until today. 

Assistant village administrator Franklin Ballantyne said 100 elders, chronic asthmatics, and others with medical concerns left in a convoy to Prince Albert on Aug. 30.

“It’s worse now, today, the smoke, it’s bad,” Ballantyne said. “The fire is 70 kilometres away from us, but the smoke is affecting the asthmatics.”

The administrator said those in the village offices are waiting on updates from various agencies before they will make any decisions regarding further evacuation orders.

Ballantyne said he’s seen photos and videos on social media, which show how close the fires are to Highway 135. The highway is the only way in or out of Sandy Bay and has since been closed.

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“If they don’t get this fire under control, I’m thinking we’re gunna be flown out of here,” Ballantyne said. “It’s not confirmed yet, but [village officials] are talking about it, because they know how close the fire is to the road.”

Ballantyne said evacuees from last night would have made it to Prince Albert at some point late last night.

He said remaining community members may be evacuated to Saskatoon, as accommodations in Prince Albert are starting to fill up with evacuees from both Sandy Bay and Pelican Narrows.

A press conference is currently under way with officials from the ministries and agencies involved, and paNOW.com will bring you more details as they’re made available.

Bryan.Eneas@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @BryanEneas