PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. — Officials are organizing a convoy to allow people to return to communities unaffected by Saskatchewan's wildfires.
The northeastern communities are not at risk, but they were cut off when the highway north of La Ronge was closed due to the fire threat.
The highway is to be opened temporarily later today so that emergency officials can escort between 100 and 150 people through the fire zone and back to their homes.
It will also provide a chance to bring in much-needed supplies such as food and fuel for residents who have been trapped behind fire lines.
A highways department spokesman stresses that the people returning have never been under an evacuation order.
There are more than 120 fires burning in the province, although no new or increased threats developed overnight.
The convoy is to include residents of Missinipe, Otter Rapids, Brabant, Southend and the Athabasca Basin.
More than 13,000 people are out of their homes as wildfires sweep across great swaths of Saskatchewan's northern forest.
