Evacuations ordered as four homes burn in uncontained wildfire on James Smith Cree Nation
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Four homes have been destroyed, and around a dozen others were evacuated as an out-of-control wildfire tore through James Smith Cree Nation (JSCN), displacing roughly 30 people.
The blaze, named 25PA-JSIR01, grew to over 100 hectares in size and was sparked on Friday evening by human activity, according to the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA).
By late Sunday, the fire was listed as contained and a local fire suppression crew was working on hot spots.
Many of the evacuated residents had also returned to their homes.
An air tanker drops fire retardant near a row of homes on James Smith Cree Nation as an uncontained wildfire burns nearby. (Melfort Fire & Rescue/Facebook)On Sunday, the Chief of JSCN Kirby Constant told paNOW that the Red Cross is on its way to the community for a “needs assessment.” He added later in the day Red Cross was taking care of accommodations for those that lost their homes.
Meanwhile, the Chakastaypasin Band of the Cree Nation put out a request for emergency donations to help families affected by the wildfire, where they will only be accepting new clothes, shoes, and essential items. They also provided some evacuation support contacts to further help those affected.
According to posts made on social media, multiple fire departments were on scene fighting the uncontained blaze, including from Kinistino, Melfort, Garden River, Muskoday First Nation, the SPSA, and the Saskatchewan First Nations Emergency Management (SFNEM).
Elsewhere in the province, as of Sunday morning, 16 other fires are burning for 17 total, with nine of them contained while the other eight are out of control.
Among the uncontained fires are the 25PA-SLIR09 fire on Sturgeon Lake First Nation, the 25BR-AIR05 fire on Ahtahkakoop Cree Nation, the 25HB-REIR01 fire on Red Earth Cree Nation, and the 25DN-BIIR01 fire on Big Island Lake Cree Territory, which is the largest of the out-of-control fires at 140 hectares in size.
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On Bluesky: @loganlehmann.bsky.social