Deer Lake evacuation complete

the MNR

A total of 530 Deer Lake residents have now been safely evacuated from their community which is threatened by nearby forest fires.
Forest fires had been burning as close as 3.5 km from the remote Northwestern Ontario community.
At the request of Deer Lake First Nation Chief Roy Meekis and band council, the province and its municipal and federal partners co-ordinated the airlift of residents to the Regional Municipality of Greenstone, 615 km to the southeast.
Emergency Management Ontario (EMO), the Ministry of Natural Resources, and the Canadian Forces worked closely together to successfully carry out the operation.
EMO is co-ordinating with local officials in Greenstone and the Deer Lake band council to ensure the well-being of the evacuees.
MNR personnel, meanwhile, continue to fight multiple fires in Northwestern Ontario with ground crews and waterbombers.
Both EMO and the MNR will continue to monitor the situation and work on contingency plans in case the situation worsens and more evacuations become necessary.
Seven residents of Deer Lake were evacuated by ORNGE air ambulances in collaboration with Health Canada.
Other First Nations communities affected by the fires include Sandy Lake, Cat Lake, North Spirit Lake, and Keewaywin.