By Bre McAdam

VIDEO: La Ronge grocery manager helps feed firefighters up north

Jul 10, 2015 | 7:02 AM

Margaret Floch jokes that she may not be on the front lines, but she’s pretty close.

 The manager of the La Ronge Co-op Marketplace has been keeping the store open so that crews and those who stayed behind can eat.

“If they don’t have food source I don’t think we’d have as many volunteers and people around,” Floch said from her camper in the Co-op parking lot, where she’s been sleeping since Saturday’s evacuation.

She’s provided food to firefighters and soldiers as well as community members who are cooking meals for several different groups. Some food was given away because it was on the verge of spoiling, and as a result the meat, bakery and deli sections have been depleted.

The store has been open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day, but Floch said she’s around to let people in after hours.

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“As soon as I see a vehicle, I bounce out and holler to them, ‘Is there something I can help you with?’ I think right now, everybody that’s up here is almost part of our family.”

She said most of the people coming into the store are also surprisingly upbeat considering the conditions.

On Thursday, Floch ventured away from the Co-op parking lot for the first time since her community evacuated.

“It really seemed weird to not see people everywhere. There’s usually people walking in the ditch, or people, you know, driving around, and it was pretty different.”

Floch admits she was scared to be in La Ronge when the evacuation order was given last weekend, but said she knew what she had to do when the mayor asked if she would stay behind to work.
 
“It’s so good because everybody is so happy and appreciative. I don’t know if we could have done anything different.”

Here is a video from a media tour in Montreal Lake-area on Thursday:

Wildfire map shows latest fire changes

There were 118 active wildfires reported in the province Thursday, another five from Wednesday, and 54 of those are in the La Ronge region.

Saskatchewan Wildfire Management tracks the fires through a fire activity map (visit their website for the full version here).

Here is the condition on some of the bigger fires threatening La Ronge and the surrounding communities.

This information was provided by Lac La Ronge Indian Band Chief Tammy Cook-Searson in her update to the community this evening.

The Egg Fire is the one pushing up to La Ronge. It currently covers 90,100 hectares, roughly five times the size of the greater Saskatoon area.

It did not move much Thursday, as the line cut from Bigstone Lake to Mile 5 hill is continuing to hold. The fire by the La Ronge airport grew a little. The massive helicopter, sky crane, was working in this area Thursday.

The Egg Fire is the largest being battled to date. Others are continuing to be fought or monitored:
Eli Fire (5 km North of La Ronge into Sucker River)
– 2,300 Hectares
– Not Contained
– Crews are there working the spot fires.

Brian Fire (at Dicken’s Lake, 8km from Grandmother’s Bay)
– 9,800 hectares 
– Crews on both sides of highway, focused on the southeast side.
-2 helicopters were bucketing today
-as of noon today fire line holding

Stower Fire (5-6 Kms south of Hall Lake, this fire is between Emmaline Lake and Hall Lake).
– This fire is making its way to highway #165.(Hall Lake Road).

Lynx Fire (is at Highway #915 km 6 – the Stanley Mission Road)
– Estimated 329 hectares
– Road may close with little or no notice.
– Crossed the road today at 6km on Highway #915 Stanley Mission jct. 
– Not contained. Ongoing assessment. Many natural breaks / lakes in the area.

 Bow Fire (north of Hunter’s Bay by Nunn Lake)
– Estimated 200 hectares
– Not contained. Ongoing assessment. (not checked today)

Bear Fire (53 km northwest of La Ronge) 
– 5,200 hectares 

Bob Fire (5km from Highway #105)
– 2 people serving values protection at McKay Lake
– Bucketing on the south east of the fire
– Ground crew working supported by the helicopter

Francis Fire (6km northeast of Sucker River across the water, Williams Peninsula)
– Estimated 2,000 hectares
– Not contained

Marcus Fire (7km southeast of Grandmother’s Bay)
– 200 hectares, entire Island

The total number of fires this year to 601.

– with files from News Talk Radio Staff

panews@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @BreezyBreMc