Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency predicting average 2025 wildfire season
The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) is anticipating an average wildfire season for 2025, after a near-record number of burns seen across the province last year.
'The overall picture for Saskatchewan indicates better conditions than we saw in 2024,' SPSA president Marlo Pritchard told media on Wednesday.
In 2024, Saskatchewan recorded the second-largest number of wildfire incidents and the second-largest recorded burn area in a decade, confirmed vice-president of operations Steve Roberts.
SPSA is reporting three active wildfires as of Wednesday, two north of Prince Albert and one at Waterhen Lake. There have been 23 fires recorded to-date for 2025, down from 34 in the same time frame last year.
A 2023 SPSA annual report notes the 10-year average number of fires was 419 with 591,950 hectares burned.
Roberts said the predictions are based on precipitation and weather conditions so far.
Fire crews have returned from other deployments or are in the process of being recalled and one air tanker crew is already in place. The SPSA is also set to receive the first of four new air tankers for its fleet renewal this May, to be operational later this summer.
SPSA modelling says the colder, wetter weather this April is expected to give way to more regular conditions in mid-May, bringing with it a start to thunderstorm season. Dry conditions are expected in central regions of the province as is overall hotter than usual temperatures this summer.
'About half of the wildfires in Saskatchewan in any given year are started by humans, with lightning being the cause of the remainder,' said Pritchard. 'As a result, I urge everyone to take extreme precautions during the spring and early summer months.'
Shawn Jaques, president of the Water Security Agency, also said spring runoff levels appear normal and 'significant' flooding is not expected this summer, with the exception of localized events.
Flows to Lake Diefenbaker were controlled this spring to maintain a higher water level than usual, by approximately 80 centimetres.
'Even with the drier conditions in the fall, there's no anticipated concerns with water supply for any communities at this time,' he said.
lkurz@postmedia.com
SPSA launches new app to support wildfire evacuees
New public safety 'Mobile Command Post' vehicle unveiled by Sask. agencies
The Regina Leader-Post has created an Afternoon Headlines newsletter that can be delivered daily to your inbox so you are up to date with the most vital news of the day. Click here to subscribe. With some online platforms blocking access to the journalism upon which you depend, our website is your destination for up-to-the-minute news, so make sure to bookmark leaderpost.com and sign up for our newsletters so we can keep you informed. Click here to subscribe.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Yahoo
Timber Bay evacuated from wildfires, residents return to Canoe Lake
Firefighters in the province have made little gains on controlling the wildfires scorching northern communities during a dry, hot period. The latest community under evacuation orders: Timber Bay residents were alerted Sunday morning to leave immediately, according to the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA). The order was issued Sunday at 10:55 a.m. for the 81-person hamlet that straddles the east shore of Montreal Lake. Residents were told to self-evacuate by driving 490 kilometres south to Regina on Highway 969 and Highway 2, and to meet SPSA staff at the Meridian Inn and Suites at 3800 Harbour Landing Drive. The largest active blaze in the province is known as the Shoe fire, located east of Timber Bay. As of Sunday, it was 305,000 hectares in size and has moved north, said SPSA vice-president of operations Steve Roberts at a Sunday news conference. The fire has also put the communities of Molanosa, East Trout Lake, Whelan Bay, Narrow Hills and Little Bear on evacuation alert, added the SPSA. A mix of high daytime temperatures, warm evenings and high winds has presented challenges to the teams fighting to contain the blazes around the province. 'This (weather) will drastically impact our ability to contain some of these fires and will actually cause some of these fires to grow in size over the next period of time,' Roberts said. The public safety agency says the estimated number of evacuees is still around 8,000, and ihopes to keep that number stable. An estimated 250 to 500 residents in the Canoe Lake area were told it was safe to return to their homes on Sunday. 'Our crews were able to contain that fire and prevent it from encroaching on the (Canoe Lake) community, even though it did near the community. The biggest concern is it was blocking the only access in and out of the community,' said Roberts about the return of residents to Canoe Lake. The SPSA said it was dealing with 15 active wildfires as of noon Sunday, with one struck off the roster from the day before. Eight of those fires are still not contained. Those spots are spread across the central and eastern parts of the province from Weyakwin to Creighton. Four fires are contained in central and western regions, with SPSA making gains to extinguish a contained fire from Saturday. Two of those wildfires remain under ongoing assessment and one is classified as protecting values. The province has had 214 wildfires so far in 2025. It's well above the five-year average of 129, according to Roberts. The Wolf fire, near Denare Beach, 'has grown significantly,' Roberts said. Meanwhile the Pelican 2 fire near Pelican Narrows was 'aggressively moving last night' south and eastward, restricting highway access. The fire activity near Creighton was also estimated to grow on Sunday. Métis Nation–Saskatchewan (MN–S) joined the provincial government on Saturday in declaring a state of emergency, with plans to provide supports to its displaced citizens. 'These wildfires are spreading so unpredictably, and citizens are being evacuated with little or no notice and no destination in place. They're leaving behind their homes and their livelihoods with little more than uncertainty ahead,' MN–S president Glen McCallum said Saturday in a statement. The MN–S said response teams will work alongside provincial and federal partners to ensure Métis people fleeing the wildfires have access to 'culturally-grounded services, supplies and shelter.' 'Our citizens are the heart of our nation,' McCallum said. 'We must be able to respond to their needs so that when they arrive at safe locations, they are welcomed with as many comforts from home as we can provide.' The provincial Métis council will work to amplify critical updates and provide supports on the ground wherever most helpful, it said. Saskatchewan premier says more evacuations likely if current weather persists 'These are devastating': Dispatches on the Saskatchewan wildfire situation The Regina Leader-Post has created an Afternoon Headlines newsletter that can be delivered daily to your inbox so you are up to date with the most vital news of the day. Click here to subscribe. With some online platforms blocking access to the journalism upon which you depend, our website is your destination for up-to-the-minute news, so make sure to bookmark and sign up for our newsletters so we can keep you informed. Click here to subscribe.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
'Resources stretched thin,' Premier Scott Moe says, as Saskatchewan wildfires rage on
Premier Scott Moe says Saskatchewan's ability to fight a plague of wildfires across the province is reaching the breaking point. The premier was joined by officials from the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency at a news conference in Prince Albert on Saturday to update the current wildfire situation. The province continues to experience one of its worst starts to the wildfire season on record. More than 500,000 hectares have burned in wildfires across the province so far this year. "Resources are stretched thin because of the severity of the situation that we're facing and the intensity and the proximity of the fires," Moe told reporters. "Just can't have another fire." People need to be absolutely careful about accessing areas close to the wildfires, as these are incredibly stressful and challenging times for those in northern Saskatchewan. Sixteen active wildfires in the province have led to at least 17 evacuations, forcing thousands of people to flee their homes. Sandy Oosterlaken from the village of Denare Beach, where there is an evacuation order, said she had about 30 minutes to leave her home. But as she was told to leave, her husband was trapped on the other side with no access to essentials. "My husband was trapped on the other side of the barricade with no pills, no food, no nothing. They wouldn't let him come to me to evacuate," she said. Oosterlaken managed to get to him, but now the couple are in limbo trying to figure out where they're going to go. They have no idea where to spend the night and for how long. "We're trying to register with Saskatchewan Red Cross; I've tried numerous times," she said. She hasn't been able to register with any of the evacuation organizers so far. "Worse happens, we're sleeping in the car. We'll just keep traveling from town to town to town to town till hopefully we find something," Oosterlaken said, adding that first they're headed to Saskatoon. The Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation has declared a state of emergency for the community of Sturgeon Landing due to wildfires. It's issuing a mandatory evacuation order because of heavy smoke from a wildfire burning in Manitoba and the increasing threat to road access in and out of the area. The First Nation says all community members must evacuate immediately and that evacuees must meet at the Wanless Store, which will serve as the staging area. From there, it says, a convoy will travel to The Pas, Man., with support from emergency personnel to ensure a safe evacuation. If anyone is evacuating by private vehicle, they are urged to follow the convoy and not travel alone. Wildfire smoke is also affecting other communities in the province, with air quality warnings in place for areas including Saskatoon, Regina, Prince Albert and Estevan. The province's largest fire, the Shoe fire, has burned 305,000 hectares, which is about 13 times the size of Saskatoon. Smoke from that fire has been threatening communities, including the resort village of Candle Lake. WATCH | Resources stretched thin as wildfires rage, Sask. premier says: The community experienced thick smoke over the last few days, but according to the latest update, the fire is "moving more slowly toward Candle Lake." "However, wind and weather conditions can change quickly, and our pre-alert evacuation and voluntary evacuation notices remain in effect," according to the update at 10 a.m. Friday. The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) said that resources are being deployed to mitigate the fire, including type 1 and type 2 fire crews, helicopters, local fire departments and heavy equipment. Communities evacuated due to the Shoe fire include Lower Fishing Lake, Piprell Lake, East Trout Lake, Little Bear Lake. Whiteswan/Whelan Bay. Parks Canada has issued a closure for areas within Prince Albert National Park due to the wildfires. It's restricting all backcountry areas in the national park, Kingsmere Road west of Narrows Peninsula Trail; Elk Trail and the Valleyview network of trails, excluding the Valleyview easy and moderate trails; all of Crean Lake, including Crean Kitchen campground and day-use area, excluding Hanging Heart Lakes. Visitors are being asked to respect the closures to reduce the risk of igniting new fires. SaskPower said in an update that wildfire conditions are disrupting repair work for the outage in some northern communities. Crews have been forced to stop work in Deschambault Lake, Denare Beach, Pelican Narrows, Jan Lake, Creighton, and surrounding areas. As of Friday morning, crews had been unable to resume work in those regions safely. In La Ronge, Southend, Brabant Lake, and McLennan Lake, similar challenges are being reported. SaskPower said Friday that crews are en route to continue repairs to address the outage, but no estimated time of restoration is currently available due to the ongoing wildfire threat. On Friday, the Métis Nation–Saskatchewan (MN–S) also declared a state of emergency, joining the provincial government as more citizens are forced to flee their homes with little or no notice. "These wildfires are spreading so unpredictably, and citizens are being evacuated with little or no notice and no destination in place. They're leaving behind their homes and their livelihoods with little more than uncertainty ahead," MN–S president Glen McCallum said in a statement. The MN–S government said it has mounted response teams to assist in fire zones, is providing culturally grounded services where possible, and is co-ordinating with provincial and federal partners to ensure Métis citizens have access to support. Saskatchewan is under a provincial state of emergency due to wildfires. That means the province can access more resources and call for support from different levels of the government. Eleanor Olszewski, the federal minister of emergency management, said in an interview with CBC News Network on Friday that Manitoba has called for a "request for assistance" from the federal government, but Saskatchewan has not made a similar request yet. She said that the Royal Canadian Air Force is helping those remote communities in Manitoba evacuate to Winnipeg. "I did speak with my counterpart, my provincial counterpart Tim McLeod, this afternoon and he advised me that the situation in Saskatchewan is manageable at the present time," she said. "In the event that federal resources are required, we're absolutely prepared to step up and help," Olszewski said. The premier said the province requests different resources from different locations, depending on the need. "It's about the resource that you actually require.... The federal government traditionally doesn't have water bombing support. If they did, we would be requesting," he said. Moe said the final decision of making a call for a "request for assistance" is in the hands of SPSA president Marlo Pritchard and vice-president of operations Steve Roberts. "It's definitely a part of that contingency planning, but it is one of the last steps," Pritchard told reporters. The Cub fire north of Creighton is at 25,000 hectares as of Saturday afternoon. Officials said it is very close to the community and there was significant 'action' last night due to southern winds. "The priority is to continue to protect the communities of Creighton and Denare Beach," Pritchard said. He said that numerous fire departments, including volunteer firefighters, have been sent to those communities to help protect them. Up-to-date info on active fires, smoke and related topics is available at these sources:
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
'Resources stretched thin,' Premier Scott Moe says as Sask. wildfires rage on
Premier Scott Moe says Saskatchewan's ability to fight a plague of wildfires across the province is reaching the breaking point. The premier was joined by officials from the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency at a news conference in Prince Albert to update the current wildfire situation. The province continues to experience one of its worst starts to the wildfire season on record. More than 500,000 hectares have burned in wildfires across the province so far this year. "Resources are stretched thin," Moe told reporters in Prince Albert. "Just can't have another fire." People need to be absolutely careful about accessing areas close to the wildfires as these are incredibly stressful and challenging times for those in northern Saskatchewan. Sixteen active wildfires in the province have led to at least 17 evacuations forcing thousands of people to flee their homes. The Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation has declared a state of emergency for the community of Sturgeon Landing due to wildfires. It's issuing a mandatory evacuation order because of heavy smoke from a wildfire burning in Manitoba and the increasing threat to road access in and out of the area. The First Nation says all community members must evacuate immediately. It says evacuees must meet at the Wanless Store, which will serve as the staging area. From there, it says, a convoy will travel to The Pas with support from emergency personnel to ensure a safe evacuation. If anyone is evacuating by private vehicle, they are urged to follow the convoy and not travel alone. Wildfire smoke is also affecting other communities in the province, with air quality warnings in place for areas including Saskatoon, Regina, Prince Albert and Estevan. The province's largest fire, the Shoe fire, has burned 305,000 hectares which is about 13 times the size of Saskatoon. Smoke from that fire has been threatening communities, including the resort village of Candle Lake. The community experienced thick smoke over the last few days, but according to their latest update, the fire is "moving more slowly toward Candle Lake." "However, wind and weather conditions can change quickly, and our pre-alert evacuation and voluntary evacuation notices remain in effect," according to the update at 10 a.m. Friday. The Sakatchewan Public Safety Agency said that resources are being deployed to mitigate the fire, including type 1 and type 2 fire crews, helicopters, local fire departments and heavy equipment. Communities evacuated due to the Shoe fire include Lower Fishing Lake, Piprell Lake, East Trout Lake, Little Bear Lake. Whiteswan/Whelan Bay. Parks Canada has issued a closure for areas within Prince Albert National Park due to the wildfires. It's restricting all backcountry areas in the National Park, Kingsmere Road west of Narrows Peninsula Trail. Elk Trail and the Valleyview network of trails, excluding the Valley View easy and moderate trails. All of Crean Lake, including Crean Kitchen campground and day-use area, excluding Hanging Heart Lakes. Visitors are being asked to respect the closures to reduce the risk of igniting new fires. SaskPower said in an update that wildfire conditions are disrupting repair work for the outage in some northern communities. Crews have been forced to stop work in Deschambault Lake, Denare Beach, Pelican Narrows, Jan Lake, Creighton, and surrounding areas. As of Friday morning, crews had been unable to resume work in those regions safely. In La Ronge, Southend, Brabant Lake, and McLennan Lake, similar challenges are being reported. SaskPower said Friday that crews are en route to continue repairs to address the outage, but no estimated time of restoration is currently available due to the ongoing wildfire threat. On Friday, the Métis Nation–Saskatchewan (MN–S) also declared a state of emergency, joining the provincial government as more citizens are forced to flee their homes with little or no notice. "These wildfires are spreading so unpredictably, and citizens are being evacuated with little or no notice and no destination in place. They're leaving behind their homes and their livelihoods with little more than uncertainty ahead," MN–S President Glen McCallum said in a statement. The MN–S government said it has mounted response teams to assist in fire zones, is providing culturally grounded services where possible, and is co-ordinating with provincial and federal partners to ensure Métis citizens have access to support. Saskatchewan is under a provincial state of emergency due to wildfires. That means the province can access more resources and call for support from different levels of the government. Eleanor Olszewski, the federal emergency preparedness minister, said in an interview with CBC News Network on Friday that Manitoba has called for a 'request for assistance' from the federal government, but Saskatchewan has not made a similar request yet. She said that the Royal Canadian Air Force is helping those remote communities in Manitoba evacuate to Winnipeg. "I did speak with my counterpart, my provincial counterpart Tim McLeod, this afternoon and he advised me that the situation in Saskatchewan is manageable at the present time," she said. "In the event that federal resources are required, we're absolutely prepared to step up and help," Olszewski said. Up-to-date info on active fires, smoke and related topics is available at these sources:
