Latest news with #DeloresKakegamic
CBC
10-06-2025
- General
- CBC
Sandy Lake residents evacuated to Cornwall can't wait to go home
Coun. Allan Rae of the Sandy Lake First Nation is 1,600 kilometres from home and worried about his wife and two children. He hasn't heard from them since he evacuated with members of his community as out-of-control wildfires encroached on Saturday. "I think the phone might be out by now," he said on Tuesday, speaking from outside a conference centre in Cornwall, Ont., where 377 evacuees from the remote fly-in community in northwest Ontario are now staying. "Somebody needs to look after them," he said of the tough decision to leave his own family to care for evacuated community members who find themselves in an unfamiliar city without knowing when they'll be able to return home. Sandy Lake officials issued an evacuation order on Saturday, as the Red Lake 12 wildfire reached within 6.5 kilometres of their community. Evacuation has focused on priority residents including people with health issues and young children, Sandy Lake First Nation Chief Delores Kakegamic told CBC on Sunday. Fire 'crept in on us' But the evacuation order had taken many by surprise as the fire approached faster than expected, Rae said. "I thought I was going to sleep in Saturday, and the forest fire kind of crept in on us during the night," he said. "Then the next thing you know, we were evacuated." The Canadian Armed Forces have helped evacuate community members, flying them in a CC-130 Hercules aircraft from Sandy Lake to Thunder Bay, about 600 kilometres to the southeast, and then onward to other parts of Ontario. As of 2 p.m. Tuesday, defence force personnel had evacuated 1,400 people, according to a spokesperson. Many evacuees left with just the clothes on their backs and without even their medication, according to Rae. "They are worried about their homes back home, about the other people, about the personnel that are on the scene, and they're worried about their pets as well," he said. The first evacuees from Sandy Lake arrived in Cornwall by bus at 4 a.m. Monday, according to Leighton Woods, the city's deputy fire chief and community emergency management co-ordinator. Evacuations to Cornwall are now complete, Woods said, after "reaching our maximum total of 377 guests." He said the evacuees were tired "and just looking to rest and hopefully get on with their lives and get back to their community when it's safe to do." Crews battling Red Lake 12 fire The Canadian Red Cross has been deployed to the Dev Centre in Cornwall to co-ordinate assistance to the evacuees, the city said in a statement, adding that it's working with the Red Cross to arrange child care and activities for children. Cooler weather, reduced winds and rain since Sunday have limited the further spread of the Red Lake 12 fire, which is over 156,000 hectares in size, according to the Ontario government's forest fire website. FireRanger crews are establishing a perimeter line on the west side of Sandy Lake closest to the fire, according to the forest fire monitor. Crews have also worked to install protective sprinkler systems on buildings and infrastructure within the community. Helicopters have used buckets to douse the flames when weather conditions allow. Community members evacuated to Cornwall are waiting anxiously and desperate for updates, Rae said.
eNCA
10-06-2025
- Politics
- eNCA
Military aids evacuations as Canada wildfires expand eastward
CANADA - Canada's military used aircraft to help evacuate members of a remote Indigenous group Monday as wildfires spread eastward from the Prairies region and into the country's most populous province Ontario. An airlift of Sandy Lake First Nation members started over the weekend as a 156,346-hectare blaze overwhelmed firefighting efforts and brushed up against the remote Indigenous community. Wildfires in recent weeks have swept across densely wooded parts of the vast Prairies forcing more than 30,000 people in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba to flee their homes. The latter two provinces have declared states of emergency. The evacuation of Sandy Lake, an isolated community about 600 kilometers (370 miles) north of Thunder Bay with no road access, is the largest mobilization so far in Ontario. Currently the fires are raging in the province's sparsely populated northwest corner and have so far not threatened the densely inhabited south, which includes Toronto and its suburbs -- home to some seven million people. As of midday Monday, military Hercules aircraft had evacuated one third of the town's 3,000 residents, Sandy Lake First Nation Chief Delores Kakegamic told AFP by telephone. It has been slow-going, she said, as these bulky but nimble aircraft were only able take off half-full with passengers because of the community's short airstrip. - 'Rapidly deteriorated' conditions - "We're prepared to mobilize every resource needed to keep Canadians safe," Prime Minister Mark Carney posted on X. He announced the military deployment late Sunday after meeting with senior officials in Ottawa. The military said in an email to AFP, "wildfire conditions in northern Ontario have rapidly deteriorated." "Over the last 24 hours, (the Sandy Lake) wildfire has advanced from 40 kilometres to just two kilometres from the community, placing the population at immediate risk," it added. On Saturday, 19 construction workers took refuge for several hours in a shipping container in the community as the skies turned orange and the air filled with smoke. "A helicopter tried to go pick them up but the smoke was so bad they couldn't land," Kakegamic said. Moments before the shipping container itself caught on fire, they made a run for it. "It was a narrow escape," Kakegamic said. "They've been traumatised, for sure." There were 227 active wildfires across Canada as of Sunday, including about 20 in Ontario. Some 3.1 million hectares of forests have been scorched this year and hundreds of buildings destroyed in several small towns. Images shared by wildfire agencies showed blackened and devastated landscapes left behind fast-moving walls of fire and big plumes of smoke. The fires have downgraded air quality in parts of Canada and the United States. Smoke, which can be hazardous to health, has also reached as far away as Europe. Climate change has increased the impact of extreme weather events in Canada, which is still recovering from the summer of 2023 when 15 million hectares of forests burned. Most of the ongoing fires this year have been triggered by human activity - often accidental - such as poorly extinguished campfires or the passing of vehicles in extremely dry areas.
Malay Mail
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Malay Mail
Canada wildfires edge into Ontario, prompting military evacuations of remote First Nation
OTTAWA, June 10 — Canada's military used aircraft to help evacuate members of a remote Indigenous group Monday as wildfires spread eastward from the Prairies region and into the country's most populous province Ontario. An airlift of Sandy Lake First Nation members started over the weekend as a 156,346-hectare blaze overwhelmed firefighting efforts and brushed up against the remote Indigenous community. Wildfires in recent weeks have swept across densely wooded parts of the vast Prairies forcing more than 30,000 people in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba to flee their homes. The latter two provinces have declared states of emergency. The evacuation of Sandy Lake, an isolated community about 600 kilometers north of Thunder Bay with no road access, is the largest mobilization so far in Ontario. Currently the fires are raging in the province's sparsely populated north-west corner and have so far not threatened the densely inhabited south, which includes Toronto and its suburbs — home to some seven million people. As of midday Monday, military Hercules aircraft had evacuated one third of the town's 3,000 residents, Sandy Lake First Nation Chief Delores Kakegamic told AFP by telephone. It has been slow-going, she said, as these bulky but nimble aircraft were only able take off half-full with passengers because of the community's short airstrip. 'Rapidly deteriorated' conditions 'We're prepared to mobilise every resource needed to keep Canadians safe,' Prime Minister Mark Carney posted on X. He announced the military deployment late Sunday after meeting with senior officials in Ottawa. The military said in an email to AFP, 'wildfire conditions in northern Ontario have rapidly deteriorated.' 'Over the last 24 hours, (the Sandy Lake) wildfire has advanced from 40 kilometres to just two kilometres from the community, placing the population at immediate risk,' it added. On Saturday, 19 construction workers took refuge for several hours in a shipping container in the community as the skies turned orange and the air filled with smoke. 'A helicopter tried to go pick them up but the smoke was so bad they couldn't land,' Kakegamic said. Moments before the shipping container itself caught on fire, they made a run for it. 'It was a narrow escape,' Kakegamic said. 'They've been traumatized, for sure.' There were 227 active wildfires across Canada as of Sunday, including about 20 in Ontario. Some 3.1 million hectares of forests have been scorched this year and hundreds of buildings destroyed in several small towns. Images shared by wildfire agencies showed blackened and devastated landscapes left behind fast-moving walls of fire and big plumes of smoke. The fires have downgraded air quality in parts of Canada and the United States. Smoke, which can be hazardous to health, has also reached as far away as Europe. Climate change has increased the impact of extreme weather events in Canada, which is still recovering from the summer of 2023 when 15 million hectares of forests burned. Most of the ongoing fires this year have been triggered by human activity — often accidental — such as poorly extinguished campfires or the passing of vehicles in extremely dry areas. — AFP
News.com.au
10-06-2025
- Politics
- News.com.au
Military aids evacuations as Canada wildfires expand eastward
Canada's military used aircraft to help evacuate members of a remote Indigenous group Monday as wildfires spread eastward from the Prairies region and into the country's most populous province Ontario. An airlift of Sandy Lake First Nation members started over the weekend as a 156,346-hectare blaze overwhelmed firefighting efforts and brushed up against the remote Indigenous community. Wildfires in recent weeks have swept across densely wooded parts of the vast Prairies forcing more than 30,000 people in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba to flee their homes. The latter two provinces have declared states of emergency. The evacuation of Sandy Lake, an isolated community about 600 kilometers (370 miles) north of Thunder Bay with no road access, is the largest mobilization so far in Ontario. Currently the fires are raging in the province's sparsely populated northwest corner and have so far not threatened the densely inhabited south, which includes Toronto and its suburbs -- home to some seven million people. As of midday Monday, military Hercules aircraft had evacuated one third of the town's 3,000 residents, Sandy Lake First Nation Chief Delores Kakegamic told AFP by telephone. It has been slow-going, she said, as these bulky but nimble aircraft were only able take off half-full with passengers because of the community's short airstrip. - 'Rapidly deteriorated' conditions - "We're prepared to mobilize every resource needed to keep Canadians safe," Prime Minister Mark Carney posted on X. He announced the military deployment late Sunday after meeting with senior officials in Ottawa. The military said in an email to AFP, "wildfire conditions in northern Ontario have rapidly deteriorated." "Over the last 24 hours, (the Sandy Lake) wildfire has advanced from 40 kilometres to just two kilometres from the community, placing the population at immediate risk," it added. On Saturday, 19 construction workers took refuge for several hours in a shipping container in the community as the skies turned orange and the air filled with smoke. "A helicopter tried to go pick them up but the smoke was so bad they couldn't land," Kakegamic said. Moments before the shipping container itself caught on fire, they made a run for it. "It was a narrow escape," Kakegamic said. "They've been traumatized, for sure." There were 227 active wildfires across Canada as of Sunday, including about 20 in Ontario. Some 3.1 million hectares of forests have been scorched this year and hundreds of buildings destroyed in several small towns. Images shared by wildfire agencies showed blackened and devastated landscapes left behind fast-moving walls of fire and big plumes of smoke. The fires have downgraded air quality in parts of Canada and the United States. Smoke, which can be hazardous to health, has also reached as far away as Europe. Climate change has increased the impact of extreme weather events in Canada, which is still recovering from the summer of 2023 when 15 million hectares of forests burned. Most of the ongoing fires this year have been triggered by human activity -- often accidental -- such as poorly extinguished campfires or the passing of vehicles in extremely dry areas.
Straits Times
09-06-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Military aids evacuations as Canada wildfires expand eastward
The fires are currently raging in the province's sparsely populated north-west corner and have so far not threatened the densely inhabited south. PHOTO: REUTERS OTTAWA - Canada's military used aircraft to help evacuate members of a remote Indigenous group on June 9 as wildfires spread eastward from the Prairies region and into the country's most populous province Ontario. An airlift of Sandy Lake First Nation members started over the weekend as a 156,346ha blaze overwhelmed firefighting efforts and brushed up against the remote Indigenous community. Wildfires in recent weeks have swept across densely wooded parts of the vast Prairies forcing more than 30,000 people in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba to flee their homes. The latter two provinces have declared states of emergency. The evacuation of Sandy Lake, an isolated community about 600km north of Thunder Bay with no road access, is the largest mobilisation so far in Ontario. Currently the fires are raging in the province's sparsely populated north-west corner and have so far not threatened the densely inhabited south, which includes Toronto and its suburbs – home to some seven million people. As of midday on June 9, military Hercules aircraft had evacuated one third of the town's 3,000 residents, Sandy Lake First Nation Chief Delores Kakegamic told AFP by telephone. It has been slow-going, she said, as these bulky but nimble aircraft were only able take off half-full with passengers because of the community's short airstrip. 'Rapidly deteriorated' conditions 'We're prepared to mobilise every resource needed to keep Canadians safe,' Prime Minister Mark Carney posted on X. He announced the military deployment late on June 8 after meeting with senior officials in Ottawa. The military said in an email to AFP, 'wildfire conditions in northern Ontario have rapidly deteriorated.' 'Over the last 24 hours, (the Sandy Lake) wildfire has advanced from 40km to just 2km from the community, placing the population at immediate risk,' it added. On June 7, 19 construction workers took refuge for several hours in a shipping container in the community as the skies turned orange and the air filled with smoke. 'A helicopter tried to go pick them up but the smoke was so bad they couldn't land,' Ms Kakegamic said. Moments before the shipping container itself caught on fire, they made a run for it. 'It was a narrow escape,' Ms Kakegamic said. 'They've been traumatised, for sure.' There were 227 active wildfires across Canada as of June 8, including about 20 in Ontario. Some 3.1 million hectares of forests have been scorched in 2025 and hundreds of buildings destroyed in several small towns. Images shared by wildfire agencies showed blackened and devastated landscapes left behind fast-moving walls of fire and big plumes of smoke. The fires have downgraded air quality in parts of Canada and the United States. Smoke, which can be hazardous to health, has also reached as far away as Europe. Climate change has increased the impact of extreme weather events in Canada, which is still recovering from the summer of 2023 when 15 million hectares of forests burned. Most of the ongoing fires in 2025 have been triggered by human activity – often accidental – such as poorly extinguished campfires or the passing of vehicles in extremely dry areas. AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
