Leader staff

The Town of Slave Lake hosted Whitefish Lake First Nation evacuees from Atikameg and Whitefish River from May 5 to May 12. Whitefish Lake First Nation was evacuated because of SWF060, which started on May 4. By May 12, it was located 2.3 kilometres east of the border of the Whitefish Lake First Nation is classified as burning out of control and has burned approximately 16,680 hectares.

On May 12, the Town of Slave Lake released the following news release:

The town received word that the evacuation order for Whitefish First Nation and Atikameg has been lifted and evacuees are headed home this morning. A one-hour evacuation alert remains in place for those communities so they could return if wildfire conditions worsen.

The Town of Slave Lake would like to sincerely thank all of the hotels, restaurants, volunteers, service providers, and residents for hosting our neighbours and showing what Slave Lake can do during a time of emergency. We know this has been an extremely challenging and stressful time for staff and volunteers and we thank you for rising to the occasion.

With the anticipated heat wave, we are expecting wildfire conditions to worsen in the coming days. The Town of Slave Lake hopes everyone gets a little rest over the weekend.