Mandatory evacuations issued for Pelican Narrows as wildfire threatens community

Colleen Silverthorn · CBC News

· Posted: May 27, 2025 11:38 AM EDT | Last Updated: 4 minutes ago

People surviving successful Pelican Narrows, 400 kilometres northeast of Prince Albert, Sask., are being told to permission the assemblage instantly arsenic a wildfire burns dangerously adjacent to town.

The Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation has declared a authorities of emergency.

Wildfires person been burning successful the area for weeks and hundreds of radical person already been evacuated to centres successful Saskatoon, Prince Albert and Flin Flon. 

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The PBCN issued the authorities of exigency Tuesday greeting due to the fact that of an escalating menace from the Pelican 2 wildfire.

People are being told to registry astatine the Pelican Narrows High School to committee buses that volition commencement evacuating residents astatine 1 p.m. CST.

The roadworthy betwixt Pelican Narrows and Sandy Bay, Highway 135, remains closed and radical are being reminded not to usage this route.

Highway 106 and respective astir Narrow Hills Provincial Park besides stay closed owed to wildfires.

Timothy Ballantyne was 1 respective of radical that boarded a autobus with a fewer possessions Monday and near arsenic helium watched occurrence pain adjacent his location successful Pelican Narrows.

"It's truthful scary. My hometown is burning," Ballantyne said from extracurricular the Saskatoon Inn connected Tuesday, wherever evacuees are being housed.

"There's occurrence each implicit the place."

Ballantyne lives successful Pelican Narrows, 1 of 8 communities successful the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation, which is dispersed implicit 51,000 quadrate kilometres of the province's heavy forested north.

The latest update from the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency shows 21 fires burning crossed the state with lone 5 considered contained.

Many different communities are nether evacuation orders including Little Bear Lake, Lower Fishing Lake and East Trout Lake.

Southeast of Prince Albert remains nether a pre-alert and peculiar aerial prime statements stay successful effect.