Saskatchewan Wildfires Force Airlift of 1,100

Tucked away in the far north of Saskatchewan, the community of Wollaston Lake has been evacuated due to encroaching wildfires.

Almost all of the 1,100 residents of Wollaston Lake, Sask., have been airlifted out of the remote, mostly aboriginal, community due to raging wildfires. Military aircraft have been flying out members of the Hatchet Lake First Nation, some 800 kilometres north of Saskatoon, since Wednesday night as the fires grew exponentially and threatened to burn down the local airport. The evacuees are being flown to cities in southern Saskatchewan, where the Public Health Agency of Canada has prepared beds, blankets, and other essentials as they wait out the fire. No buildings have been destroyed yet, but as many as 50 homes were threatened.