Thick, choking smoke from forest fires is forcing more evacuations in northern Saskatchewan on Thursday.
Up to 160 more residents were expected to be transported from the community of Sandy Bay, according to Cathy Bulych, a spokesperson for the province's emergency social services.
"The bus capacity will be 160. We're working with health officials to determine exactly how many will come out," she told The Canadian Press.
About half of Sandy Bay's approximately 900 residents have been told they must evacuate. They'll join 2,000 people from across the region who have had to leave their homes because of thick smoke from the fires.
"It was like the whole community (was) covered with smoke, even the ashes from the fire were falling on our clothing," Angelique Ray, an evacuee from Sandy Bay who was staying at the University of Saskatchewan, told Â鶹´«Ã½net.
So far, however, none of the communities is directly threatened, despite the evacuations.
Other communities affected include in Deschambault, Black Lake, Stony Rapids, Uranium City, and Pelican Narrows.
The fire burning near Pelican Narrows, estimated to be just under nine square kilometres, is the largest and most threatening blaze, fire management official Scott Wasylenchuk told The Canadian Press.
Many residents have been forced to board buses for an eight-hour ride to Regina, to stay in temporary shelters. Others are being sent to Prince Albert and Saskatoon.
Health officials say it's been a challenge to find enough cots, sheets and pillows for the evacuees. Three hundred extra beds have already been brought in from Winnipeg.
But Dave Hobden, with the emergency social services team assisting the fire evacuees in Prince Albert, where about 850 people have been housed, said officials are doing all they can.
"We have a number (of evacuees) housed in congregate living in one of the local colleges, and we also have friends and families around in town, as well as a hotel providing services," Hobden told Â鶹´«Ã½net in an interview from Prince Albert.
"We've got babies that are as young as a couple of days old we're trying to accommodate, and we've made special arrangements for the young moms as well."
Hobden stressed the immediate needs of evacuees are always looked after first. These include shelter, food, and medication. "As it goes on, we're looking at recreation, providing a respite for kids and parents," he said.
Fire crews have been busy in Saskatchewan this summer as the result of hot, dry conditions.
Six new fires erupted over a 24-hour period for a total of 65 fires ablaze in Saskatchewan. Four of them were listed as out of control, the largest of which is the Mirond fire burning by Sandy Bay and Pelican Narrows. It's already charred an area 35 kilometres by 25 kilometres wide.
"In perspective we have 460 fires so far this year," Steve Roberts, executive director of fire management and forest protection for the province, told Â鶹´«Ã½net on Thursday evening.
"Last year at this time we only had 205, our ten year average is 340, so we are well above our norm," Roberts said.
Saskatchewan has imposed a ban on open fires across roughly two-thirds of the province.
Conditions are expected to worsen in the next two days, with a storm system that is forecasted to blow through the northern areas, along with high temperatures, low humidity and little chance of precipitation.
Still, officials are hopeful.
"We will have cooler conditions, provided we don't get any winds, we will take advantage of those to get an upper hand," Roberts said.
Community service officials will allow residents to go home once conditions improve, he added
Locals will return "as soon as we are comfortable that the fire lines are contained and we think that we won't have any flare-ups that'll generate more smoke," he told Â鶹´«Ã½net.
There are now more than 800 people working in some capacity on the fires in northern Saskatchewan.
The Saskatchewan fire crews fighting the blazes have received help from crews from the Northwest Territories and Ontario.
Firefighters from Quebec were also expected to arrive, along with four tankers to help battle the blazes.
