Several Northwest area communities were under state of emergency orders as they dealt with widespread flooding from the spring runoff.
Maidstone was the first community in Saskatchewan to declare a state of emergency, and added to the list Tuesday were the communities of Radisson, Borden, the RMs of Great Bend and Elfros and Poundmaker First Nation.
As well, Onion Lake had verbally declared but the paperwork had yet to come in to officially declare an emergency there, according to government officials.
Commissioner of emergency management Duane McKay spoke of what a state of emergency actually means. An emergency declaration provides those municipalities with special powers to put in place their emergency plan, and also alerts the province to provide support and resources whenever needed.
Poundmaker issued its emergency declaration Tuesday. Government officials, in a conference call with reporters Tuesday morning, reported 50 people from Poundmaker had been evacuated from the reserve Monday, due to overland flooding and road access issues.
Deanna Wysoskey of Social Services confirmed those affected have been relocated to hotels in nearby communities.
The Red Cross is in the process of registering those out of their homes, and when that is completed more exact numbers will be provided at that time.
Support is being provided for rooms and meals to the end of the week and will be reassessed at that time. Wysoskey notes Onion Lake is experiencing flooding and road access issues and that situation is still developing.
Patrick Boyle of the Water Security Agency reported both Radisson and Borden had been under pressure from overflow from a creek that runs into the North Saskatchewan River.
"It's a local tributary that's been causing issues there," said Boyle. He noted there was some temporary relief Tuesday with decreases in the water levels due to the colder weather.
He indicated the decrease was noticed in Radisson, and while levels were still rising in Borden, they were expecting lower levels to reach Borden later in the day. He did say the region could still see more melt, however.
McKay reported Maidstone and Radisson were working to remove the water there through pumping or rerouting. SaskPower has been on the scene to assist with rerouting power to maintain pumping operations and were working with the Water Security Agency on sewer issues that may have occurred as well.
McKay confirmed a seniors' home in Radisson had been evacuated as a result of water, but his understanding was those displaced had been allowed to return. "But they are on short notice to evacuate if the water comes back," he said.
A total of 50 homes were identified as "at risk" in Radisson, said McKay. No specific number for Borden was known as of Tuesday morning.
Meetings continue on a regular basis. At this point, the communities have not requested provincial assistance, said McKay, but emergency response teams are standing by to assist if emergency volunteers prove to not be enough.
McKay said the cooler temperatures have provided a bit of a respite from the flooding in those communities. He said they are preparing now for what is coming in the next few days when temperatures start to rise again. "Hopefully we'll be able to meet the demand at that particular time," he said.
Boyle noted the issues on Poundmaker were due to Cut Knife Creek experiencing overbank flow in the area. During the day Monday, however, decreases were noticed and there was some impacts due to the impounded water, but "no impacts as bad as we originally thought," he said.
The agency continues to watch the situation there. "We think in Cut Knife Creek the peak has passed," Boyle noted.
McKay confirmed there was a water line break on Poundmaker and a boil-water order was issued. That order was expected to remain in effect for some time.
However, McKay did tell reporters the situation had stabilized there and the province would be working with the First Nation to not only deal with that situation but "anticipate what might occur," he said.
Boyle reported there was a "definite increase in applications" with the Emergency Flood Damage Reduction Program in the Northwest region.
Officials continue to monitor the situation and the impact of the latest snowfall that hit a large portion of Saskatchewan.
Doug Wakabayashi also provided an update on the highways situation in the province. While the Northwest area saw flood situations in the previous days, the main concern from a highways perspective Tuesday was the return of winter driving conditions in much of the south of the province, with several highways affected by "travel not recommended" warnings.
The worst roads were identified as east of Moose Jaw to the Manitoba border. Some highways north of Regina and Moose Jaw were closed, and Highway 11 from Lumsden to Davidson and a section of Highway 2 from 42 to the junction of Highway 11. A section of Highway 1 was also closed Monday, but back open the next day from Indian Head to Whitewood.
As for the weekend road conditions in the Northwest, Wakabayashi said there was four locations where there were water issues on Highway 16 - two east of the Battlefords, one in Maidstone and one at the east approach to Lashburn. The only one still of concern Tuesday was the Lashburn access.
There were still other issues with water over the road on Highway 40 about 10 kilometres east of Cut Knife, said Wakabayashi. There were also a couple of water-on-road situations on Highway 376, one just south of Maymont and another near Arelee to the east. However, those roads were still open to traffic as of Tuesday.
Garnet Matchett, director of operation of the Ministry of Health Emergency Management, noted his agency was working with Prairie North Health Region in Maidstone, Meadow Lake and the North Battleford area, and other regional health authorities with respect to the situations there.
In the Borden area, Marchett noted Borden Health Centre remained open, noting they wanted to maintain services not only for the volunteers who are sandbagging and helping out the community, but for people within the community as well.
