Evacuees fleeing NW Ont. forest fires find safety in Cornwall, Ont.
Forest fires in northwestern Ontario have forced hundreds of residents from a First Nation community to evacuate their homes and flee to Cornwall, Ont.
A full evacuation order was issued for Deer Lake First Nation, about 300 km north of Kenora. The people there were flown 2,000 km east to safety.
"We couldn’t see across the lake. That’s how much smoke there was," said Nathan Meekis.
Meekis and his cousin Austin were helping their community leave safely until they, too, were told to get out fast.
"I was supposed to go to a different place, but they sent me out here. I wasn't even supposed to leave until the last plane but then I showed up to work and they told me to pack my bag. I didn't even know we were coming here until we jumped on the plane," he said.
Meekis is among 530 residents of Deer Lake who are now staying at Cornwall's Nav Centre. They were allowed to bring only a single suitcase with them and it’s unknown when they'll be back home.
"My kids are really homesick and want to go back home," said Larissa Harper, another evacuee.
Some families were able to come to Cornwall together, but others were relocated to different places.
"Families got spread out. My mom is in Thunder Bay right now, alone," said Joseph Meekis.
"You would be very lucky if you are with your family," Austin Meekis said.
The residents of Deer Lake are allowed to leave the Nav Centre and can move freely in Cornwall. The Eastern Ontario Health Unit (EOHU) is part of a support network providing mental health services and COVID-19 vaccines to those who need them.
"Most were vaccinated up north but some didn't get their second dose because they were flown out," explained Dr. Paul Roumeliotis, the medical officer of health for the EOHU.
Last year, the Nav Centre was turned into a quarantine site, hosting more than 100 Canadians who were aboard a cruise ship that was stricken with COVID-19 in the early days of the pandemic. The passengers were quarantined for 14 days and allowed to leave after showing no signs or symptoms of COVID-19.
In the meantime, these 530 residents of Deer Lake First Nation must now wait until the fires recede before they can return home, and it's not known when that could be.
"We have to do it for our community," said Austin Meekis. "We have to do what our chief says."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.