Nearly 1,000 Stanley Mission residents were forced to leave their northern Saskatchewan community because of the McCafe forest fire. .As of midday Friday, the fire was less than 20-km from Stanley Mission — about 400 km northeast of Saskatoon — according to the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA)..The SPSA said in its media release several firefighter crews were in the area fighting the fire with “helicopter and air tanker support teams.”.The Lac La Ronge Indian Band (LLRIB) emergency response team said on Twitter evacuations began in the morning around 8 am and people packed enough clothing for five days..The 3,883-hectare wildfire, known as 22LA-MCCAFE, is not contained..“The fire really moved in hot. It was unexpected. It was a scary situation,” said LLRIB Chief Tammy Cook-Searson. .“We let the community members know we were putting them on standby, then we met and we decided to do a general evacuation. We were fortunate the winds died down and the fire shifted away from the community.”.“I know our residents here in Stanley Mission were also very scared and we did the best we could to keep everyone safe. I’m grateful all the firefighters and everyone in the community did what they could to protect our community.”.Stanley Mission residents with a chronic or respiratory illness, young children, and elders had already been evacuated over the past two days..The evacuees are going to Prince Albert, Saskatoon, and Regina with help from the Red Cross..People were warned that Highway 915 might have periodic closures and power lines along the road could be damaged..Heavy smoke in the area is expected to continue for at least a few days, as the McCafe fire is not contained and spread to more than 110 sq-km by midday Friday.
