Evacuees from more than 30 communities across Saskatchewan’s north have returned or are in the process of returning home, according to the province.

Thursday saw residents from the following communities return home:

Air Ronge/La Ronge, Brabant Lake, Clam Crossing, Eagle Point, English Bay, Hall Lake, Jan Lake, Lac La Ronge Indian Band, Lamp Lake, Napatak, Nemeiben Lake, Potato Lake, Rabbit Creek, Sikachu, Sucker River and Wadin Bay.

Additionally, repatriation efforts for the resort subdivision of Ramsey Bay are scheduled for Friday, June 13.

As of 3 p.m. Thursday, the emergency department of the La Ronge Health Centre reopened, after being closed due to the mandatory evacuation.

According to the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA), acute and long-term care patients will begin returning to the facility on Monday, June 16. Mental health supports will also become available starting Monday.

As of Thursday afternoon, there were 23 active wildfires in the province. Three are contained, six are not contained, 12 are ongoing assessment while two are listed as protecting values.

So far this year, 258 wildfires have been reported – well above the five-year average of 147.

Of the fires, approximately 44 have been caused by lightning. The remaining are human caused and are divided into several categories.

• Recreation – Caused by recreational activities such as fishing, picnicking, hiking or quadding.
• Resident – Accidental fire caused by people or machines related to agriculture or related to normal living in a forested area.
• Industry – Caused by land clearing, harvesting or power distribution.
• Incendiary – Arson, a device is used to cause a wildfire for the “purpose of mischief.”

The province noted that many human-caused fires are accidental – with the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) believing 30 fires have been intentionally set – including the Ditch02 Fire near Weyakwin.

A total of 290 values (structures, other types of property) have been lost due to wildfires. The SPSA expects this figure to increase to over 400 as damage continues to be assessed by teams in the field.