Abstract

The 2025 La Ronge wildfire evacuation highlights vulnerabilities in rural health system readiness during climate-driven emergencies. Reflections from 12 family physicians revealed challenges in communication redundancy, clarity of emergency governance, continuity of care for evacuated patients, and the emotional strain of dual responder–evacuee roles. These insights, gathered through a post-evacuation debrief, represent physician perspectives rather than assessments of organizational performance. The findings echo lessons from previous Canadian wildfires and inform policy directions to strengthen communication systems, clinical integration in emergency operations, patient-tracking processes, and trauma-informed supports for rural and northern health system resilience.