Evacuees arrive

With flood waters rising again, evacuees have started pouring out of Kashechewan First Nation.

As many as 600 people displaced from the James Bay community along the Albany River are expected to arrive in Thunder Bay over the next couple of days.

City officials learned Saturday afternoon that Kashechewan leaders had asked the province to evacuate the entire community.

As many as 160 Stage 1 evacuees, which include the elderly, children and those with medical conditions, were expected to land in Thunder Bay on Saturday.

“The command structure to deal with the evacuation has been put in place,” said Thunder Bay Fire Chief John Hay in a release. “We’ve also engaged partner agencies to assist.”

As many as 2,000 evacuees could be airlifted out of Kashechewan First Nation.

Hay said an early state of emergency had been lifted on Friday, a day after it was called.

“Conditions can change very, very quickly in these situations,” Hay said.