By Diane Johnston, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Temiskaming Speaker EARLTON – For what’s believed to be the first time in its history, the Earlton-Timiskaming Regional Airport has served as a landing stop for forest fire evacuees. On July 19, it handled four flights carrying a total of 136 passengers who were evacuated from Pikangikum First Nation in Northwestern Ontario. “Everything ran smoothly,” said airport manager Jamie Smith earlier this week. Smith said the airport was notified on Friday evening that flights would be coming on Saturday afternoon. The first flight landed at about 2:30 p.m. He said it was a tight turnaround to get passengers off the plane and on to buses to take them to Kirkland Lake, and then refuel the plane so it could depart before the next

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