Homes destroyed by wildfires in Montreal Lake, Saskatchewan

Northern wildfires are creating major problem in Montreal Lake tonight.

Chief EdwardHenderson confirmsat least one houseand a four-plexhasbeen destroyed by fire.

"It is well within the First Nation. It is in the housing areas," said MarkD'Amato, band manager for the First Nation.

Montreal Lake is about 100 kilometres north of Prince Albert.

D'Amato said he expects to have an updated number ofhouses that are destroyed by morning.

Volunteer firefighters forced to abandon efforts

The volunteer firefighters and emergency crews were forced to evacuate the area as of 8 p.m. CST. They are currently in Prince Albert, according to D'Amato.

"Everybody is out from the little hamlet of Timber Bay, which is on the south side of Montreal Lake, all the way to Weyakwin, including the Weyakwin fire base," said D'Amato.

The provincial government has also issued a statement saying, "We have had significant fire activity this evening and reports are that we have lost structures to fire in Montreal Lake."

"Given the urgent nature of the response right now, we are likely to have all staff on this effort throughout night and into the morning."

There are 286 houses on Montreal Lake Cree Nation and most are in subdivisions of about 50 houses.