LA LOCHE - A State of Emergency has now been called for Northern Village of La Loche, with residents now under evacuation orders.
There is a mandatory evacuation order for priority levels one and two. Priority 1 consists of those with pulmonary issues such as asthma, COPD, and cardiac issues; Priority 2 includes Elders 65+, Diabetics, Dialysis, Prenatals, Newborns, Infants, Childern under 5, Pregnant women, and those with special needs such as those who are bedridden, wheelchair bound, or home care clients.
A voluntary evacuation order has been issued for priority 3 — the rest of the community.
The village has also posted that the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency is reporting a fire located 9 km north of La Loche is slowly moving towards the community. All resources were on the fire, and air scrubbers were to be installed in the community hall for clean quality air.
Residents are being urged to stay home and close windows. As well, SPSA is reporting Highway 955 has been closed to keep community members away from the area to allow firefighters to do their work.
The wildfire situation in the north has re-erupted in recent days, right after many northern residents had received the go-ahead to return home due to improved weather conditions.
This latest evacuation order was posted on the Northern Village of La Loche Facebook page on Tuesday at 3 p.m., with residents urged to head to La Loche Community Hall at 5 p.m. that day to register for the evacuation. They also reported that buses were en route to the community for residents to be evacuated to Regina, where they will stay at the University of Regina. In a later post, the village posted that buses were scheduled to leave for Regina at 9 a.m. Wednesday morning (today).
The rest of the community is being urged to be on standby for a possible mandatory evacuation.
