‘Need more boots on the ground': Saskatchewan calls for more resources to fight wildfires
The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) says additional firefighting resources are required as the province battles 51 active wildfires.
'We need more boots on the ground,' vice president of operations for SPSA Steve Roberts said in a media briefing Friday afternoon. 'We have a lot of fire on the landscape, and our crews have been working for over six weeks now, almost non-stop.'
Saskatchewan NDP Athabasca MLA Leroy Laliberte is demanding the province immediately seek federal help to fight fires.
'The Sask. Party either doesn't know how to fight these fires or doesn't care,' Laliberte said. 'Either way, the people I've been talking to for a week now aren't getting the resources and relief firefighters they need.'
Roberts says they've reached out to federal counterparts and are requesting specific resources, including values protection teams and additional helicopters.
He added that the province has already secured permission to use a fire camp from the Department of National Defense if needed, though current camp resources remain sufficient.
According to Roberts, international reinforcements have also begun arriving, including 40 firefighters from Australia, 40 from Mexico, and crews from Quebec, Ontario, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick.
'Having more resources is definitely a benefit, it allows our staff to get a little bit of reprieve from the stressful, long hours in harsh conditions,' he said.
On Friday, eight communities have been partially or fully evacuated, affecting about 1,700 people.
The evacuated communities include Canoe Lake/Cole Bay/ Canoe Narrows, Jans Bay, La Plonge Indian Reserve, Montreal Lake Cree Nation, Northern Village of Beauval, Northern Village of Pinehouse, Patuanak/ English River First Nation and Resort Subdivision of Lac la Plonge.
According to the SPSA's website, as of Friday afternoon, 11 wildfires are uncontained, including the Muskeg Fire near Beauval and the Buhl Fire at the northern edge of Prince Albert National Park.
The Shoe Fire is the largest uncontained wildfire with 539,248.18 hectares burned, followed by Pisew Fire with a current size of 197,263.0 hectares, according to the SPSA.
Saskatchewan has seen 378 wildfires this year which is above the five-year average of 289.
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