Murray Wood: Who's hot and who's not
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The list of evacuees from Saskatchewan wildfires more than doubled on Saturday as an order was declared for Lac La Ronge and area.
Jaydon Ono-Flett, reporter with APTN was in the community as people were leaving. She spoke to News Talk Radio from there early Saturday evening.
“At first people were really panicked, you know, they didn’t know what was going on. But now people seem to be more relaxed … A lot of people who had their own vehicles have left, so you know, with less people around, people are feeling less panicked and shook up.”
A notice sent out to residents asked them to leave with “a sense of purpose and urgency but not panic.”
There were long line-ups at gas stations, Ono-Flett said on Twitter. A huge convoy of vehicles formed on Highway 2 as people trickled out of the community.
Ono-Flett said she had been heading to Sucker River in the morning but was stopped at the road blocks, and the evacuation order was given a half hour later.
She explained that many of the people she had spoken to hadn’t expected they would have to leave.
“They actually thought that the fire was going to be under control in the area, they thought it was further away. The air wasn’t so bad (Friday) when we came by, but the wind switched and things changed pretty quickly for them.”
Ono-Flett said some children and many pregnant women were walking around wearing surgical masks. And she was tweeting about long lines for gasoline so people could leave the community.
Tweet from Jaydon Ono-Flett in La Ronge on July 4 2015.
Most people who didn’t have friends or family to stay with were being taken to Cold Lake, Alta., because almost everywhere in Saskatchewan was already full.
“Most of them haven’t been to Alberta so they’re really kind of lost in that sense, where they don’t know what to expect in that province,” she explained.
Tweet from Jaydon Ono-Flett in La Ronge on July 4 2015.
Ono-Flett spoke as buses were moving in and out of the community, taking people to their temporary homes.
“A lot of people are just waiting and trying to relax, trying to keep the kids busy here … nobody’s really scared, just kind of feeling confused.”
On Saturday afternoon Premier Brad Wall said he has spoken to the Prime Minister who had promised the Canadian Armed Forces would help in Cold Lake.
reginanews@rawlco.com
