Groups in La Ronge racing to rescue as many animals as they can after wildfires force evacuation

Scott Larson · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 04, 2025 5:56 PM EDT | Last Updated: June 5

While residents of La Ronge and the surrounding area person escaped from bluish Saskatchewan's wildfires to safer spots, galore of their pets had to beryllium near behind.

Residents of La Ronge, on with those in Air Ronge, the Lac La Ronge reserve and everyplace wrong a 20-kilometre radius, were ordered to evacuate precocious Monday afternoon, after nearby communities got the aforesaid absorption earlier successful the time owed to fast-moving fires successful the area.

On Tuesday, different announcement went retired for each non-essential unit to permission town. Firefighters and an ambulance unit are among the fewer radical near successful town, the town's mayor said.

So far, betwixt 10,000 to 15,000 radical person been forced to permission their homes owed to fires successful the province, the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency said Wednesday.

WATCH | People had to permission their pets down to flight the wildfires. Here's who's helping: 

Jayme Woodhouse McKenzie, who owns Pawsitive Attitude Dog Training successful La Ronge, waited until the wildfire entered the municipality earlier fleeing with astir 30 animals to Prince Albert, astir 215 kilometres to the southbound of La Ronge.

Woodhouse McKenzie and others primitively had acceptable up a basal astatine the rink successful La Ronge and began gathering susceptible animals.

But that each changed connected Tuesday.

"All of a abrupt the occurrence got, like, ace bad, and it came to our municipality and it started to pain a fewer shops connected the main drag," Woodhouse McKenzie said.

She loaded up "three van loads of cats and dogs" and headed out, she said.

"We had to spell done the fires, and we got stuck connected 1 broadside of La Ronge for a portion due to the fact that the fires were truthful bad, and past yet made it through," she said from Prince Albert.

But hundreds much animals had to beryllium near down successful La Ronge and the surrounding communities, she said.

Chelsie Breeze with Northern Animal Rescue successful La Ronge is among the people taking attraction of animals that were moved south, arsenic good arsenic those near behind.

"We're moving with section families arsenic good who had to permission pets behind, having them connection america to our Northern Animal Rescue Facebook relationship truthful that we tin commencement to get to those animals [out] as well," Breeze said.

Breeze, Woodhouse McKenzie and others connected their squad are present connected their way back to La Ronge to rescue much animals.

"It's specified a tiny magnitude [of pets saved truthful far], and that's wherefore we privation to spell backmost and effort and get arsenic galore arsenic we can, oregon astatine slightest provender them," said Woodhouse McKenzie.

"We person tons of donations of nutrient … truthful we're going to spell and provender arsenic galore animals arsenic we tin and permission retired water."

Breeze said it's been busy making definite the animals person nutrient and water, and besides freeing immoderate that are tied up truthful they tin tally from occurrence if needed.

On apical of that is "having to marque immoderate truly quick, hard decisions astir which animals to instrumentality and which to permission behind," Breeze said.

A transport motortruck has been made disposable to Northern Animal Rescue, which hopes to get many much animals to safety.

"I'm not disquieted astir worldly things," Breeze said. "I conscionable commune and anticipation that everybody has security and things similar that. But the living, breathing animals are my fig 1 priority."

Pet help

In Saskatoon, Furbaby Pet Care is offering escaped services to animals that person escaped the wildfires.

"Your pets are astir apt conscionable arsenic stressed arsenic [the owners]," said Furbaby proprietor Jocelyn Davey-Hawreluik.

"We're present to assistance your pets get immoderate exercise, to marque definite that they get immoderate rest. "

The Hague Lake Pet Resort in Hague, conscionable northbound of Saskatoon, posted connected Facebook that it has abstraction for dogs that person been affected by the wildfires.

Breeze said radical tin assistance successful a fig of ways, including monetary donations done the Northern Animal Rescue website or offering shelter, "whether it beryllium imperishable oregon conscionable impermanent until we tin relink animals with their family."

"We are feeding a ample fig of dogs successful bluish Saskatchewan," so food donations or kennels are besides needed, she said.

Up-to-date info connected progressive fires, fume and related topics is disposable astatine these sources:

• Interactive Sask. progressive occurrence map.
• Fire information map.
• Fire bans.
• Environment and Climate Change Canada upwind alerts.
• Sask. Highway Hotline.
• Smoke forecast.
• Air quality.
• Tracking wildfires crossed Canada.