Province welcomes fire evacuees from Northern Ontario

Saskatchewan will be housing roughly 2,000 to 3,000 evacuees from Northern Ontario who have been displaced by area wildfires.

The first 400 arrived Thursday in Regina, with the first plane landing at 10:30 a.m.

The evacuees are from the remote Pikangikum First Nation, where a full evacuation took place.

The province says the evacuees will stay in dorms at the University of Regina, as well as at hotels in the city.

Deanna Valentine, provincial co-ordinator for Emergency Social Services with the Ministry of Social Services, said the evacuees will be provided with the basic necessities.

“Shelter, food, personal items, access to medical and mental health care, and emergency transportation (will be provided),” she said.

Valentine said the Red Cross will be helping the displaced evacuees.

Cindy Fuchs, the vice-president of the Canadian Red Cross in Saskatchewan, said Thursday afternoon at the U of R that the Red Cross was ready for the influx.

“We’ll prepare up to a month,” Fuchs said. “Let’s hope it’s not that long. Let’s hope Mother Nature co-operates and lets these folks go home a lot sooner than that.”

The province said it will also have translators on site, as many of the evacuees speak the Ojibway language.

As Regina fills to its capacity of 500 dorm rooms and 150 hotel rooms, more evacuees will be placed in Saskatoon and Prince Albert in the coming days.

The province can’t estimate at this time the cost of the housing, or the length of time the evacuees will be in Saskatchewan.

— With files from 980 CJME’s Nathan Meyer