Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 242
Where are these people going to stay?
7/24/2007 at 1:08 PM
Winnipeg Sun:
Forest fire forces evacuation of northern community
Residents of the Sayisi Dene First Nation at Tadoule Lake, Man., are being evacuated this morning as a raging forest fire is threatening their remote northern community.
The fire has come within a few kilometres of the community's airport, a major concern for two reasons: It is the community's lifeline as there are no roads connecting Tadoule Lake to the rest of the province, and there are also large fuel tanks there.
Nancy Powderhorn Sr., the finance administrator for the band, said most residents didn't sleep last night and instead spent it nervously watching the smoke and feeling the heat from the blaze.
A Hercules airplane based at CFB Winnipeg will be evacuating residents all morning on short trips to Churchill.
A military spokesman said the gravel landing strip at Tadoule Lake cannot accommodate a plane full of people with a full load of fuel, so the plane is doing short trips to Churchill, about 240 km east, with only a little fuel.
The residents will eventually be evacuated to Brandon once the plane fills up in Churchill.