A pall of heavy smoke from a raging wildfire is forcing evacuations from the remote fly-in community of Fond-du-Lac in northwest Saskatchewan.
The local RCMP detachment says about 200 people at high risk to smoke inhalation — seniors, infants, and people with respiratory conditions — were airlifted out Saturday as a precaution.
It`s believed most were headed to Prince Albert, about 900 kilometres to the south.
The fire burning on the other side of Lake Athabasca from Fond-du-Lac covers some 50-square kilometres and is sending towering columns of black smoke billowing high into the air.
The RCMP say that as temperatures cool at night, smoke has been descending on the community like a fog.
There is no immediate threat from the fire itself, and no plans right now to evacuate the rest of Fond-du-Lac's approximately 1,000 residents, however, that could quickly change if the fire escalates.