Leaders focus on economic impact of Sask. wildfires

Many northern Saskatchewan communities received some good news this week. 

Evacuation orders were lifted and thousands of displaced residents were able to return home to Lac La Ronge Indian Band, La Ronge and Air Ronge.

"The last couple weeks, especially for our tri-community, have been trying," said La Ronge Mayor Thomas Sierzycki.

"However, I can say that the men and women on the front lines have done a tremendous job in ensuring the safety of our community in the long-term," he said.

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As people are starting to settling down, the economic backlash of the fires is starting to kick in.

"Many people have lost valuables, cabins, homes and traditional land use," Sierzycki said. "Those people will require our assistance as we go forward as a community."

Residents have been away from their homes and their jobs for the past two weeks; some for longer than that.

"That's tough on families," said the mayor.

"The summer season is a busy season in northern Saskatchewan and a lot of businesses utilize those months to make good profit for their business, so those are some things that are definitely now the priority as we move forward," he said.

Sierzycki forecasts that tourism around the area will also take a hit, with highway access to many of the northern communities being shut down for so long.

In some regions the wildfires still remain extreme, but as fire bans are gradually lifted, Sierzycki said he's optimistic.

"Hopefully the tourism aspect can come back very quickly," he said.  "Those campgrounds that have been destroyed ... that's going to a take a bit more time and that's the disheartening part."

According to Chief Tammy Cook-Searson of the Lac La Ronge Indian Band, Hall Lake is the only community in the area still under a general evacuation order, after the evacuation order for Sucker River was lifted.

"It's a really good feeling to be able to start bringing people home," she said.

Cook-Searson, along with staff from the Lac La Ronge Indian Band, has helped coordinate over 6,000 northern fire evacuees through their evacuation centre.

"It's been one of the most challenging events that we've been through, but we remained strong and we remained focused," she said.

Now, with people coming home and things starting to fall back into place, she's asking for one thing: a northern Saskatchewan strategy.

With help from northern aboriginal voices, Cook-Searson hopes to develop a plan that will move the wildfire aftermath forward. She hopes to find ways to improve and avoid possible displacement of people from their homes during any future occurrences.