THUNDER BAY -- More than 200 people displaced from the flood-threatened Kashechewan First Nation are settling into their temporary accommodations in Thunder Bay after arriving over the weekend.
Five flights, bringing a total of 204 evacuees from the James Bay area community, landed at the Thunder Bay International Airport beginning on Saturday during the Easter weekend.
Kashechewan, which is situated on the banks of the Albany River, is prone to flooding nearly every year during the spring ice break-up. Community leadership last week declared a state of emergency. Community members have also been evacuated to Timmins, Kapuskasing and Cornwall.
Thunder Bay Fire Rescue deputy chief David Paxton said conditions in the community are currently stable, though that could change quickly.
"There's still ice cover across the river at this point but they're expecting seasonal warm weather. There's a good snowpack on there so there's a hope that it will be a steady, slow melt which they'll be able to absorb," Paxton said on Tuesday.
"But if it gets a couple of windy, warm days and the ice break lets loose, that's always a big concern when an ice jam could potentially create a fluctuation of 10 feet in that river in a few hours."
Thunder Bay had committed to hosting up to 250 primary evacuees, which include families with young children, elders and people with health issues but remain mobile.
The length of the evacuation will depend on the snow melt and its impact on water levels, with the displacement usually lasting until the middle of May.
"We've planned on four weeks of regular operations," Paxton said. "Schooling is going to start next week for the community. They're deploying the teachers based on where the children have ended up in the different host communities. We're working on that right now for school to start Monday morning."
More people could arrive in Thunder Bay in the coming days, as a contingent of Kashechewan community members were in their hunting camps and are expected to return home later this week. Paxton doesn't expect the total number of evacuees hosted in Thunder Bay to significantly increase, but said family reunification could result in some joining relatives already in the city.
