By Kathy Gallant

Evacuation order lifted for Waterhen F.N.

May 18, 2018 | 10:00 AM

After a very busy few days, citizens evacuated from Waterhen Lake First Nation can head home.

Chief Joanne Roy announce the evacuation order was lifted Thursday afternoon, after consulting with local fire officials. Those who were housed at the Henk Ruys Soccer Centre in Saskatoon will catch a bus back home at 10 a.m. Friday. While the imminent threat of nearby flames has been controlled, Roy said there is still quite a bit of smoke in the area so Elders and the chronically ill will remain at hotels.

“It is just a precaution at this point,” she said. “They should be able to come home after the long weekend.”

Roy said the order was lifted just in time for the long weekend, which should help lift the community’s spirits.

“Everyone is excited to get back,” Roy said. “Waterhen is our home and with the long weekend coming up people just want to get their lives back in some sort of order and enjoy their safe homes.”

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The evacuation was a team effort, Roy added, involving a large number of organizations and volunteers.

“This was a prime example of teamwork,” she said. “The donations, the people that reached out to us in regards to what we may need. There’s a lot of caring agencies, organizations and individuals that were worried about us.”

As of 5 p.m. Thursday, Ministry of Environment officials said the so-called “Tuff Fire” stretched across roughly 5,200 hectares. Sprinklers are still set up to protect remote structures in the area as firefighters, heavy equipment, and air tankers, continue their work.

kathy.gallant@jpbg.ca

On Twitter @ReporterKath