SIOUX LOOKOUT – Sioux Lookout Mayor Doug Lawrance declared a State of Emergency in the community at 1:00
pm CDT on July 2, 2019, as a key step in ensuring the community is well-equipped to assist with the evacuation of Keewaywin First Nation.
An emergency Declaration ensures that resources are made available and any costs incurred by the Municipality resulting from the assistance provided, are covered by the provincial and/or federal governments.
Sioux Lookout’s Emergency Control Group, consisting of representatives from the Municipality, Emergency and Police Services, local, provincial and federal health, safety and emergency management agencies and organizations, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, a variety of First Nations organizations, and community volunteers who assist with logistics, met this morning to discuss the situation in Keewaywin – the community is being evacuated due to a forest fire. In concert with the Office of the Fire Marshal and Emergency Management’s (OFMEM) Provincial Emergency Operations Centre (PEOC), the Emergency Control Group determines how best the community can provide support and assistance, and manages the local response.
“Sioux Lookout welcomed and registered 87 evacuees yesterday, via three flights, and we are expecting 122 more today, via four additional flights. In concert with our private sector partners, we are able to lodge up to 210 phase-one evacuees (elderly, young children, pregnant women and people needing specific health supports), and ensure their comfort,” remarked Brian MacKinnon, Manager of Corporate Services/Municipal Clerk and Public Information Officer for the Sioux Lookout Emergency Control Group.
