As wildfire risk grows, fire ban implemented in Saskatchewan's north and provincial parks
Province encourages RMs, other communities to consider fire bans too
Dry and hot conditions in the province that followed a wet June have prompted the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency to issue a fire ban in certain areas to reduce the risk of wildfires.
The agency issued the provincial fire ban on Thursday, beginning at noon. It's expected to remain in place until the conditions change or if the ongoing wildfires become more manageable.
The provincial fire ban encompasses:
- Crown lands.
- Provincial parks.
- Provincial recreation sites.
- Land within 4.5 kilometres of a provincial forest boundary,
- The Northern Saskatchewan Administration District (a regional title for the northern half of the province).
The ban prohibits open fires, controlled burns and fireworks, with the goal to protect lives, communities, infrastructure and resources, said Steve Roberts, the public safety agency's vice-president of operations.
He said that gas-fuelled stoves or fireplaces are essentially the only fires allowed.
"The intent of the fire ban is to reduce unwanted, human-caused fires, make people understand that even though we have had a very wet June period here, that the conditions in the forest at this time are extremely volatile," Roberts said during a news conference Thursday afternoon.
"The risk of ignition is high."
As of Thursday afternoon, there were 75 wildfires burning in Saskatchewan. So far, there have been 302 wildfires this year, higher than the five-year average of 211 by this time.
"With all of our crews being actively engaged on the 75 wildfires at this time, we really do not have additional capacity to take on unwanted fires that may start due to carelessness or negligence," Roberts said.
Of the ongoing wildfires, 17 are not contained. Roberts highlighted two ongoing wildfires: the Davis fire (about 10 hectares in size) northeast of La Ronge and the Wilson fire (about 100 hectares), east of Creighton. Both started on Wednesday evening, Roberts said.
Roberts said the Davis fire poses a risk to Highway 102 between Grandmother's Bay and Brabant Lake. The road was briefly closed Thursday morning and there have been reports of SaskTel outages.
The Wilson fire is threatening Creighton and Denare Beach to its south, Roberts said, and Highway 106. Both fires are threatening the SaskPower infrastructure in the area.
All of the crews shipped to other Canadian regions like Newfoundland and the Northwest Territories have been brought back to Saskatchewan, with the exception of 21 firefighters in the Northwest Territories, who Roberts said are expected to return.
Manitoba air tankers are assisting firefighters at the Wilson fire.
The public safety agency is also encouraging municipalities, rural municipalities and other communities to consider implementing a fire ban to prevent human-caused wildfires.
"In Saskatchewan, nearly half of the wildfires in the province are caused by human activity and usually start in accessible areas near communities and roads," a news release issued Thursday said.
The fire ban came as Saskatchewan is in the midst of a heat wave that has seen temperatures climb above 30 C in many areas.
And it came one day after Alberta issued a fire ban for its entire forest protection area, which includes much of northern Alberta and the eastern slopes of the Rockies. Firefighters in that province are battling multiple out-of-control fires, including new ones sparked by lightning Wednesday night in the Fort McMurray area.
