How vulnerable are Saskatchewan's 3 largest cities to wildfires?

With the ongoing California wildfires — which have killed at least 28 people and destroyed thousands of homes — and last year's devastating fire in Jasper, Alta., people living in Saskatchewan's largest cities may wonder how vulnerable they are to wildfires.

Steve Roberts, a vice-president with the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency, says all municipalities have their own risks, which are typically more serious the farther north a town or city is located.

The landscape in the more southern part of the province, surrounding Regina and Saskatoon, is mostly farm and grassland, while Prince Albert, farther to the north, is on the forest fringe.

Roberts said there have been fires close to Prince Albert — a city with a population around 38,000 — over the last 10 to 20 years. In 2021, the city declared a state of emergency due to nearby forest fires, ordering residents from 34 homes just north of the city to evacuate.

"Prince Albert is a forested community, so they need to put extra effort into their prevention and their planning for that sort of risk, similar to [how] any city that has a river or [is] next to an ocean has to plan for floods," said Roberts.

In 2023, the province saw one of its most severe wildfire seasons on record, with 494 fires burning about 1.9 million hectares of land and forcing 2,703 people from their homes, the public safety agency said in October of that year.

Grass fires a risk in Regina, Saskatoon

While being farther south and surrounded by different landscape, Regina and Saskatoon aren't immune to wildfires, according to John Pomeroy, a distinguished professor at the Centre for Hydrology at the University of Saskatchewan.

He noted the Corman Park fire of last August, which destroyed $3 million of property and covered 300 hectares of land on the outskirts of Saskatoon.

"Under the right conditions, yes, this can happen to us as well, and unfortunately, the right conditions are coming," he said.

By the middle to end of this century, the Saskatchewan region is expected to see average temperatures six to seven degrees above the normal values in the 1800s, said Pomeroy.

That, along with increased drought from an expected drop in precipitation, will create a greater risk of wildfire for urban and suburban areas, he said.

Colin Laroque, the head of the U of S soil sciences department, says while Saskatoon and Regina are susceptible to grass fires, they're better protected than northern communities because there are more breaks to stop the fires, and because grass fires are easier to fight than forest fires due to accessibility.

Laroque noted unusual conditions have played a role in the latest California fires.

"California's special, I think, because … it really hasn't had any measurable rain since last April, 2024," and has also seen hot, dry winds, said Laroque.

"So when you have that long, extended dry period, you suddenly make everything bone dry, and anything could go up."

While it's too early to tell for certain, Laroque thinks the conditions could be right for another dry forest fire season in Saskatchewan. He also notes that even when fires don't pose an immediate threat of fire damage in cities, the smoke can still be a problem.

Are cities prepared?

The risk of wildfires spreading to homes in Regina is considered low, says Regina Fire & Protective Services Deputy Chief Gord Hewitt. The department was called to 31 wild and grass fires in 2024. Those fires are usually quickly contained, he said.

The best mitigation strategy is public education and fire bans during the dry season, added Hewitt.

"A lot of the fires that we see will come from things like train sparks … [or] discarded smoking materials, so we try to make sure we educate the public appropriately to reduce the risk of it," he said.

Saskatoon Fire Department Deputy Chief Rob Hogan said his department typically sees fires involving burning crops, in areas with lots of freestanding brush.

Unlike in California, there are lots of natural firebreaks around Saskatoon, Hogan said.

The city has also prepared over the last number of years by buying four-by-four trucks that can carry hundreds of litres of water at a time, and the department also has two 3,000-gallon (roughly 11,000-litre) trucks.

Farmers will also often help by using their equipment to make more firebreaks, Hogan said.

"I'm not saying that we couldn't have a very serious fire — we could, but not similar to what California is seeing," he said.

The City of Prince Albert didn't respond to a request for comment on its emergency plans prior to publication.

Under provincial legislation, every city is required to have such a plan. The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency's Roberts said in a serious enough situation, it's ready to help municipalities.

"If that level of incident is overwhelming the local resources, that is one of the primary mandates of the public safety agency," he said.

"We could dispatch the fire tankers to grass fires in the south if they were big enough and needed that intervention."

The U of S's Pomeroy also noted that in the event of a severe enough fire, Saskatoon has the South Saskatchewan River and Regina has Wascana Lake to draw water from.