Wildfires in Saskatchewan forcing evacuations, road closures

Communities in northern Saskatchewan are continuingto face problems with wildfires.

A number of communities are under an evacuation order, including Clearwater, Montreal Lake, Sucker River, Weyakwin, Timber Bay and La Loche.

Colin King, the deputy commissioner and director of operations for emergency management for the province, said, "There is no end in the immediate future [to the fires].

"We have many, many folks who are working closely together and working very hard."

Closure of Highway 2

Further issues on Sunday afternoon forced the closure of portions of Highway 2 north of Prince Albert towards La Loche.Highway 102 by La Ronge is also closed due to fires in the area.

Firefighters were able to make advancements in areas north of La Ronge, including English Bay and Sucker River.

Additionally, the Lac La Ronge Indian Band has declared a local emergency, while the town of La Ronge has not.

Steve Roberts from the ministry of the environment said,"Basically everything north of Prince Albert has a fire ban."

The ministryis also enlisting the use of infrared scanning to monitor the fires being spread during the evening. It saidthis allows firefighters to work areas most needed during the mornings.

To date, there have been 505 fires across Saskatchewan in 2015 and121 are currently active.