WINNIPEG - Smoke drifting into northern Manitoba from forest fires in Saskatchewan prompted the evacuation of approximately 54 people from a remote reserve over the weekend.

Daren Mini, emergency management officer with the Manitoba Association of Native Fire Fighters, said 44 people were evacuated from Northlands First Nation near Lac Brochet on Saturday because of smoke coming from Saskatchewan forest fires.

“The north is having a lot of fires and that smoke, of course, is coming into Manitoba,” Mini said.

About 10 more people were expected to be removed from the reserve Sunday.

Northlands is an isolated community near the Manitoba-Saskatchewan boundary and is only accessible by air transportation or winter roads.

Manitoba Conservation official Gary Friesen said conditions in northern Manitoba are still very dry and ripe for forest fires. Crews were busy battling 17 new fires that started Saturday because of lightning, and more were expected Sunday.

“We have had some showers (Sunday) and they’ve helped out in some situations,” Friesen said. “You can have rain, and one mile away it’s dry.”

The province continues to ask people in northern Manitoba to be extra careful because of the forest fire conditions caused by ongoing hot, dry weather.