Humans blamed for most forest fires in Sask. this year
Watch: Water bombers fight Creighton, Sask. forest fire
The number of forest fires in Saskatchewan is up this year and the province is reminding people to take extra care.
So far, there have been 180 fires, which the Provincial Wildfire Centre says is about double the usual number.
Scott Wasylenchuk, a manager with the centre, said humans started almost all of those blazes.
"Because of the dry, hot, warm conditions, we ask the public to be very careful with any type of burning," Wasylenchuk said.
He said it's important to make sure fires are completely out before leaving them behind.
"All but two of these fires are believed to be human-caused, so they're all preventable," Wasylenchuk added.
There are currently 22 forest fires burning in Saskatchewan.
The city of North Battleford, Sask., and the surrounding rural municipality have instituted a ban on open-air burning effective this Friday. The ban is due to the high-risk conditions in the area and does not apply to legal fire pits at this time.
In the northern town of Creighton, Sask., near the Manitoba border, footage of water bombers battling a forest fire on Wednesday was caught on camera.