Returning home to northern Saskatchewan bittersweet for some wildfire evacuees
Boarding the bus in Regina on Wednesday to make the nine hour drive back home to Île-à-la-Crosse was bittersweet for some wildfire evacuees.
The northern community of Île-à-la-Crosse rescinded its evacuation order on Wednesday. Its emergency declaration will be in place until at least May 28.
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Verna Caisse and her family spent eight days in Regina waiting for the air quality to improve in Île-à-la-Crosse.
She says she is grateful for the support evacuees received at the University of Regina.
"They treated us with respect, they fed us, gave us clothes to wear and it's just awesome," Caisse said.
Caisse says she's worried about what she's returning home to.
"All of our stuff must have spoiled in our freezers and deep freezes. so I don't know what I'm going to do," Caisse said. "But the community is really good in Île-à-la-Crosse, they'll help us out."
Cash Caisse says he doesn't want to leave Regina. (Radio-Canada)
Caisse's son Cash says it was a bit of a scary experience evacuating to Regina — but now he doesn't want to leave.
"They feed us, they treat us really good, it's really cool here, I just want to stay here," Cash said.
Jerry McCallum, from Île-à-la-Crosse, came to Regina alone.
He says evacuees from different areas of northern Saskatchewan created a community at the university.
"It was like a little town here, all of us living in this place, people from Buffalo we all got along well," McCallum said. "The fire was not good, it's too bad but that's just the way things are, hopefully we don't have to go through something like a fire [again]."
Jerry McCallum evacuated from Île-à-la-Crosse alone. He says the evacuees created a community at the University of Regina. (Radio-Canada)
As of Wednesday, many of the wildfire evacuees from Buffalo Narrows were staying put at the University of Regina until the fire situation near their community improves.
Île-à-la-Crosse and Buffalo Narrows are among the regions in northern Saskatchewan where Environment Canada special air quality statements remain in effect.
As of 8:30 a.m CST on Thursday, there were 24 wildfires burning throughout the province, including six that were not contained, according to the latest bulletin issued by the intelligence and situational awareness unit of the Saskatchewan's Public Safety Agency (SPSA).
The SPSA says it continues to support evacuees from northern villages in Regina, Lloydminster and North Battleford.
On Wednesday, the SPSA lifted the provincial fire ban for all crown lands, provincial parks and the Northern Saskatchewan Administration District north of Highway 16. The ban had been in place since May 16.
There have been 187 wildfires in Saskatchewan in 2023. The five-year average is 111 wildfires for this time of year.
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This story was originally published for CBC News. With files from Laurence Taschereau.