Ambulances line up at Elk Ridge, on their way to La Ronge to help evacuate patients. (Submitted)

La Ronge Health Centre closed as SHA evacuates 49 acute-care patients

Jun 3, 2025 | 12:34 PM

The Saskatchewan Health Authority )SHA) says acute-care patients have been safely transferred out of La Ronge as the community evacuates in the face of a wildfire.

The mandatory evacuation order for La Ronge was issued on Monday afternoon by the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA), along with evacuation orders for the nearby Lac La Ronge Indian Band and Air Ronge, after the fire breached the local airport.

According to Derek Miller, Chief Operating Officer with the SHA, 53 acute-care patients and residents have been safely evacuated from local care homes and the La Ronge Health Centre, which is now closed, including the emergency department.

“Evacuation of these patients and residents was a rapidly evolving situation that required flexibility, close coordination and quick decision making throughout the afternoon and evening, yesterday and into the early hours of this morning,” he said.

Of those patients and residents, 21 came from the hospital, 15 from the continuing care side of the hospital and the remaining 17 were from care homes and group homes within the community of La Ronge.

According to Miller, initially the evacuees were going to be transported by air, but as conditions worsened this was no longer possible. Evacuees were transported by ground to Elk Ridge, where additional EMS crews were ready to transport patients to 19 different facilities.

“Because we spread the 53 individuals across 19 sites, it allows us to level load those extra demands,” Miller said.

“We’re definitely sensitive to being able to meet their needs going forward.”

Patients and residents were transferred to facilities in Arborfield, Battlefords, Birch Hills, Canora, Carrot River, Cut Knife, Duck Lake, Foam Lake, Kamsack, Kinistino, Lanigan, Maidstone, Melfort, Prince Albert, Rosthern, Shellbrook, Tisdale, Unity and Wilkie.

Some of those communities are over six hours away from La Ronge by car.

Miller said five doctors and a handful of nurses stayed behind in the community to provide basic emergency services out of the EMS base in the area.

“We’re grateful for them for doing that,” Miller said.

“We’re going to monitor that based on the situation as it evolves and coordinate with first responders in the community.”

The health authority said its teams worked through the night to transfer the patients, with help from paramedics, the public safety agency, the Saskatchewan Ministry of Health, the Canadian Red Cross, Saskatchewan Air Ambulance, STARS, Rise Air, Lac La Ronge Indian Band, Medical Communications and Coordination Centres and Elk Ridge Resort.

“(I’m) very thankful today and proud of the work that our teams did with our various partners for this successful and safe evacuation,” he said.

Miller said the SHA and SPSA were monitoring the status of the fire. As of Tuesday morning, the fire had not reached the hospital.

“We closed the hospital due to the overall threat in the La Ronge area and evacuation order, not because the hospital was imminently exposed to fire,” he said.

According to the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency, there were 20 wildfires burning around the province on Tuesday morning, and 18 communities are currently under evacuation orders.

So far this year, Saskatchewan has seen 229 wildfires, well above the five-year average of 132.

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